RWBY - The Allegiance of Steel (No set schedule for uploads)
by OneManArmySilver
Summary: Silvester Harrison, AKA Silver, is now in Beacon academy in order to escape his past. He meets teams RWBY and JNPR and is shown back into the world of friendship and love. But his dark past has now caught him, in the worst way possible. A threat worse than the White Fang and Grimm combined, can Silver and his friends save Remnant - or will his past finally catch up to him?
1. Author's Introduction

**Author's Introduction:**

Hello. This is a RWBY fanfic that I thought I'd try out to make. In this one, I'm going to introduce a whole new character: Silver, full name Sylvester Harrison, Huntsman in the making and thrill seeker, slayer of Grimm. My own OC.

I wanted to try and make a character that hasn't been made, and is unique in his own way. Also, the events might follow some scenes from the original RWBY, but some other scenes might be different. In fact, as the story progresses, it might diverge off the Rwby main story all together, sometime around the Vytal Festival tournament.

RWBY is owned by Monty Oum (Rest In Peace) and Rooster Teeth.

 **Characters:**

Many (if not all) characters from RWBY will be present, but Silver is a whole different person, made by me, so I'll explain.

Sylvester "Silver" Harrison is male, approximately 17 years old. He is also extremely tall and buff for his age, almost a head taller than most people, and is just a bit taller than Cardin Winchester. He actually has three weapons.

One is a very powerful rifle, a combination of the M82 .50 Calibre sniper rifle and the Halo franchise's sniper rifle (similar to a .50 cal sniper), except that it can fold into a more compact form and can fire many dust cartridges. Some have fire, others have ice, but he is mostly armed with armor-piercing that leave a very clear vapor trail in the air. He gave it the name **Magnum** , a clear reference to its weapon class. (I was originally stuck between a .50 calibre sniper and an AWM type sniper, but the .50 calibre is more for power, while the Arctic Warfare types are more for covert/silent use).

The other is an extendable Rocket Launcher, a mix between the SMAW rocket launcher, the Javelin guided launcher and the Stinger homing launcher. It can fire rockets conventionally, but also with the help of a built in tracker that can guide them with laser guiding and heat seeking means. It has a small screen attached that can be folded to act as a guiding system for guided rockets. It can also hold multiple rockets at a time, especially useful when rocket jumping, which is Silver's main mean of quick travel and an effective mean of escape. The rockets are normal ones that do cause damage but have a large explosion radius. Other rockets involve incendiary, ice and airburst. This one he calls **Patriot** , a reference to the Patriot missile as well as it's American inspirations. (I know that Junior used a rocket launcher in the Gold trailer, but this idea came to me before I watched the trailer. I was really annoyed, but I spent enough time deciding on a weapon for him, also Junior's weapon doesn't really appear in the actual RWBY story).

Both can latch on and seemingly become part of his armour, being attached to his back. His third is the armour itself.

His armour is a very advanced model loosely based off the Atlesian military standard issue uniforms. His helmet does cover his head, only leaving the bottom half of his face visible and hiding his eyes. His helmet contains almost all feats of technology from night vision to heat sensors to video recorders and facial recognition software. All the armour itself is made of Silver metal. His chest piece and arm guards are made of silver, and his combat pants are black in colour, as well as his boots being silver and leg guards.

He is essentially a One Man Army - a new term for this AU.

OMAs are special warriors whose skills are so great they can best entire teams of huntsmen and huntresses. For comparison, Soldiers are Army, Huntsmen and Huntresses are the Marines, and OMAs are the Navy Seals. However, Silver doesn't only make it through his technology alone. His suit has many, many abilities, which will be revealed later, but it's also his strength. He can be argued to be one of the strongest individuals in the whole of Remnant.

For now, I hope this goes well. I sometimes have writers block sometimes, so updates might range from days to weeks. It becomes increasingly hard to continue stories after a certain number of chapters for me. I can't promise frequent updates. Leave a review if you like the idea, if you don't, and if so why. Just… no hate comments. Please? But in the meantime, enjoy!


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Everyone was looking at him.

Silvester Harrison didn't blame him. On the ship heading to Beacon, the most prestigious school in Remnant, the passengers were all mostly teens, all dressed in unique ways, with their weapons by their sides.

He was, admittedly, a bit overkill.

Not to mention that just by standing up, his head almost touched the ceiling. And he couldn't exactly be called anything but "threatening".

He quickly scanned a faunus bunny who walked by quickly. Heart accelerating, slowing down once she passed. He didn't know why he kept doing that, maybe force of habit, hoping to find someone who wasn't afraid of him. He was surprised he still bothered with that.

As the airship closed in, he stood up. He waited for those in the back to move forward. He gave them a nod as they passed, but they didn't really acknowledge it.

As they flooded out of the ship, he walked slowly and took in the surroundings. Beacon was indeed beautiful, it's towers resembling a fairy tale's castle.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt someone bump into him. He looked back to see a blond man in a hoodie and jeans stumble a bit. "Sorry, sorry."

"Stop walking, take deep breaths. That helps with motion sickness." Sylvester advised him. The man stopped walking and followed his advice.

"Thanks." He turned around and smiled. "The name's Arc. Jaune Arc."

"Sylves… Silver." He took his hand, looking down at him.

"That's a… name." He waved back to him. "Sorry I can't stay. See you later!"

Silver watched him jog away after the crowd. Heart scan. Normal. No sign of panicking.

He was the first one in three years.

* * *

At the ballroom, Silver leaned on the wall to the side, watching the kids gathered there with him. They were all changed into nightwear, some already lying down. He popped the last bit of his cookie into his mouth, before reaching another in his bag. It was the last one from the vending machine, and he'd been lucky to snag it. Although the people who were before him all backed off when he approached. Again, a reminder of how different he was.

"Wooah!"

He looked down. A young girl was crouched down next to his two weapons, which were leaning on the wall. She was extremely interested in the sniper rifle, Magnum.

"Aren't you a little young for Beacon?" He asked, not being rude, a question asked out of pure curiosity. "You're fifteen."

"How'd you know?" She looked up.

"I can tell." He'd quickly scanned her. Again, her heart level showed she wasn't panicking. He offered her the bag. "Cookie?"

Her eyes lit up, and she reached in. "Thanks! You're much nicer than everyone else thinks you are!"

"Ruby!" They both looked up to see a beautiful blond girl walk towards them. Scans showed that she was "combat ready", ready to attack him. Chance of combat, 67.5%. "What are you doing?"

"Hi Yang! Yang, I'd like you to meet… oh. I don't have your name…"

"Silver." He answered.

"Yang, meet Silver, Silver, meet Yang. She's my older sister!"

"Sisters, huh?" He looked up at the blond, only to realize her eyes were… red?

"Ruby, come with us."

Ruby nodded. "Ok! Coming, Silver?" She took his hand, and he was momentarily caught by surprise. So was Yang.

"Ruby…" Yang sighed. "Fine. It's nice to meet you." She offered her hand, and he took it. He definitely felt her trying to crush it, so he squeezed back, causing her to wince.

Ruby, oblivious, nearly dragged him across the room. Many of the students all looked on in awe, a young girl dragging a… super soldier dude… by the hand. His radars showed that scrolls were taken out, but he couldn't be bothered to get them to delete the photos they were taking.

"Guys! Meet Silver!" Ruby pulled him up to a small circle of kids. Of course, most of them recoiled a bit.

There was a girl with black hair and a bow sitting with a book open (his scans showed her to be a cat Faunus, but he decided against pointing it out). There was a girl with long white hair done up (records showed her as Ms. Schnee from the SDC), as well as Jaune Arc in a… was that a one piece? And two more, an orange haired girl in pink and a man with black hair in green.

"Hey!" Jaune waved. "I remember you! From the dock!"

"Ruby?" The faunus shivered. "You… know this guy? For how long?"

"Yup. And for about five minutes!"

Silver looked around before going the wall, letting himself slide down. "Oh, shoot, I left my weapons back at the-"

"Want me to get them?" Ruby looked at him, practically begging.

"Fine. Just don't-" She shot off in a trial of rose petals, before appearing back again, sniper and Rocket launcher in hand. "Here!"

"Uh…" He took them, before leaning them on the wall. "So… Hi?"

By this time, Yang caught up. "So, Silver, I guess a couple of introductions are in order. That girl there, her name's Blake." Blake nodded. "Weiss Schnee." The white haired girl raised her hand. "Jaune, Ren, Nora."

"Got it." He recorded their names. "You know, you're all the first people to actually talk to me in… three years, two months and six days."

"That long?!" Ruby gasped. "That's awful!"

"You wouldn't know the half of it." Silver sighed. "Everyone avoiding eye contact, steering around you, when you enter a shop or restaurant they leave…"

"It's ok." Jaune came over and put a hand on his shoulder. "We're here! We're now officially your first friends!"

Silver stared a bit, before nodding. "That… sounds nice."

* * *

" _Magnum_ 's a great weapon, but for close to medium range, I switch to _Patriot_."

"Woooow!" Ruby's silver eyes and Jaune's blue eyes were large, and Silver swore he saw stars in them. "You can jump with explosions?"

"Yup. It's something I've come up with. It's called rocket jumping. I'll show you some day."

"Awesome!" Nora sang. "I knew I wasn't the only one!"

Ren sighed. "So what's your melee weapon?"

Silver stared a bit. "Oh. Well, I just go for fists." He cracked his knuckles. "I can pack a mean punch, and my strength is… very large."

"Oh, really?!" Yang mocked, obviously annoyed by this.

"Yup, unlike you. Your shotgun fists don't count either."

Yang sat up. "Right. Arm wrestle, now!" She slammed her elbow, arm up. "Or are you too scared?"

He wasn't sure if he should. But he pushed those thoughts to the side. "Ok."

He gripped her hand, elbow on the ground, and Ruby did a count down. "Three, two, one, go!"

Nothing happened. Their arms stayed completely still.

"Umm, Yang? You're supposed to go." Weiss looked at her.

Yang's eyes were hidden behind her locks, which had fallen over her face as her head tilted forward. Silver also had his face tilted forward, shadows covering his mouth.

As the group watched on, their hands started to shake, before Silver started to slowly push Yang back. They watched in shock as he slowly neared the floor, before he finished.

Yang sat up, rubbing her hand. Silver did the same. There was a bit of tension, before Silver spoke.

"Damn. You're strong."

Yang looked up, but she had a smile on her face, much to everyone's surprise. "I should be saying that. It's been awhile since I came across someone stronger than me."

"Told you I'm strong!" He confidently struck a flex pose, making everyone laugh. The tension was gone. Silver was part of the group.

He was their friend.

* * *

It was late. The moon shone through the windows, casting a soft glow in the room. Silver still found it hard to fall asleep.

"Silver? You awake?"

He looked up. "Yang?"

"Hey." She smiled, head propped on her hand. "Can't sleep?"

"Nope." He looked out the window again.

"I just want to… say sorry. For how I treated you earlier. I didn't really trust you just based on your looks."

"It's fine. I forgive you. You're all my first friends in a very long time. I should be the one thanking you."

She grinned. "Ruby really likes you." she whispered before laying down on her pillow. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Silver looked out again, laid his head on his pillow, and he was out like a light.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Everyone was lined up at the edge of the Emerald Forest, ready for their initiation. The rules had already been explained, but Silver knew he wouldn't get a partner. There were an odd number of students, meaning unless he joined a group of three, he'd be alone.

Not that he wasn't used to it.

"That is all you need to know. Any questions?" Ozpin had just finished his instructions. Silver raised his hand. "Go on?"

"Sir, there aren't enough jump pads."

He looked. Sure enough, Silver was the only one not on a pad. "Hmm. Do you have means to send yourself out?"

"Sure." He stepped forward. He'd go first as to not purposely attempt to find a specific partner. He pulled out _Patriot_ , extending to its full length, before checking the wind, aiming down. The others watched in slight shock as he hopped up, pulling the trigger.

He blasted himself straight up, flying up before reaching the apex and shooting another down. He fell straight down, went passed the rocket, and as he hit the ground he hopped again, this time to the side, firing a third rocket just as the second one hit the ground, sending him soaring over the forest.

"Wow…" Ruby, Jaune and most of the other kids looked on in awe. They watched as he landed in the trees in the distance.

Yang shook her head and sighed. "Showoff."

* * *

Silver would have landed perfectly had it not been for that damn crow. He was soaring through the air, prepared to hit the tree when the bird burst out from the leaves, causing him to lose balance and crash right through the branches. He slammed onto something soft, however, so he was fine.

"Ugh. Not my best landing." He tried to stand up, but then he saw what he landed on, then looked around. "Ah…"

He was sitting on the body of a dead Alpha wolf, killed in the impact, it's pack looking up at him. There were over thirty of the Grimm, and they didn't look pleased to see their leader crushed under a human.

Silver jumped off the body and ran, the howls sounding after him as he ran into the trees, sending a rocket at them. "Yup. Not my best landing!"

* * *

A couple of minutes later, the majority of the groups were at their target and had already collected their chess pieces.

"So where's Silver?" Ruby looked back at the forest. "He should be here."

"He probably already made it." Blake suggested.

"Also, the Nevermore's still there."

They all followed Weiss's finger. The Nevermore was circling around.

"Yeah, that idea of riding it? Awesome!" Nora exclaimed. "We gotta try it someday Ren!" He paled a bit at the suggestion.

"Seriously, where is he?" Jaune exclaimed.

"No time for that!" Pyrrha shoved him back as multiple feathers pierced the ground. The Nevermore was attacking.

* * *

Silver burst through the trees. He'd lost the Beowulf pack, at least for now. He looked up to see that he was at the target. Multiple chess pieces were presented, with many being missing. Despite his head start, he was one of the last to get there.

He made his way through several Nevermore feathers, as well as seeing the tracks of a Deathstalker across the ground. The sounds of gunfire and explosions sounded from the distance. _Great._ He wanted to grab a piece and go help them, but something caught his interest.

The king piece was made out of a different material… was it iron? He walked over to it. It looked like someone had tried to cover it with white paint. No, wait. The scan showed it as the element Ag.

Silver.

He picked it up. _Ozpin_.

A low growl, and he looked back.

Looks like he didn't lose the pack. Instead, he'd led more to him. Now there were at least two more large packs and even a bunch of Ursa, including Ursa Majors. They were also focused on the teens behind Silver fighting the Nevermore and Deathstalker.

 _Right. Let's do this._

He pulled out Magnum in one hand, Patriot in the other. He grinned, and the Grimm charged.

* * *

"That was awesome! I knew you could do it!" Yang had Ruby in a tight hug. "My little sis, you're growing up!"

"Yang! Can't… breathe!" She gasped for air as her sister let go.

"I'm not that bad, am I?"

Before any of them could continue, Ren, who was walking ahead of the group tenderly rubbing his back, was run into by something. They watched as the Beowulf got up, took one look at the humans and froze. Another one came behind it and did the same.

Yang cocked Ember Celica and Nora grabbed Magnhild, but then the already-decaying body of another dead Beowulf landed between them. The two wolves now turned and ran.

At least, they tried to.

Two vapor trails suddenly pierced through their heads, followed immediately by loud booms. Silver landed, Magnum in his hands, his boots smoking slightly from the use of Patriot. "Took you long enough."

"Where were you then?" Weiss crossed her arms, trying to play off her shock.

"While you all were trying to take down two, I was keeping the rest off of you. You don't believe me, look for yourself."

They all looked at the area. The clearing was filled with the bodies of Grimm, all in varying stages of decay. Some were almost completely gone while others were just beginning the cycle. Countless crater and destroyed trees also showed the scale of the fight.

"How many…?" Blake wasn't the only one in shock.

"Confirmed two hundred and twenty six-" He suddenly whipped out Magnum and fired a single shot in the air. A dead Beowulf hit Ren as he pushed himself off the ground, having attempted to ambush them from above. The tinkle of the empty bullet case echoed. "Two hundred and twenty seven now."

He suddenly found Ruby hanging from his shoulder. "How are you so good with a sniper?! Teach me, Pleeeease?!"

"Umm…" He was not expecting that reaction. "Fine. Shall we get going?"

The others all nodded, and they set off, with Silver in the lead now talking about Magnum and how they could make Cresent Rose better as a rifle. Ren pushed off the dissolving corpse off him. "Why me?" he groaned, rubbing his even-more sore back.

"Weiss? Yang?" Blake leaned in.

"Yes?"

"Do you think Silver's an OMA?"

"..." Weiss didn't reply, instead choosing to remain silent. But Yang nodded. "If that's true, what's he doing here?"

"I've read about them. One Man Army's aren't trained at schools. They get their skill either through practice, inheritance or… unofficial tutors. They exist solely to kill Grimm and save lives, with even greater skill. Basically the special forces of Huntsmen and Huntresses."

"Yeah…" Yang nodded again. "My dad had a run in with one. He says it was the first and last time he faced someone of superior skill." Taiyang Xiao Long, the Sun Dragon, had trouble beating one of them?

"So, anyone want him for their team?"

* * *

"Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"You killed the Nevermore, right?"

She nodded happily. "Yup! It was awesome! We banded together, Weiss froze it's tail, then…"

Silver listened happily as Ruby told the tale again, a smile on his face. He'd forgotten how nice it was to be listening to a person talking instead of for Grimm.

He failed to notice the figure behind him.

A figure stood on the top of the rock which the last Beowulf tried to ambush the group. They were wearing the same armour as Silver, except that they carried a large flamethrower and a shotgun on their back instead, and a large heavy pistol on their side.

And the armor the figure wore was Bronze.

 _Found you at last…_

 _I'll wipe that smile right off your face. You deserve to suffer for eternity for what you did._


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Congratulations to you, Team RWBY." There was a round of applause as they all stood up proudly. "Now… Silvester Harrison."

Silver stood up. There were whispers from the others as he walked up.

"I know you prefer the name Silver, so I'll stick with that." Ozpin took a sip from his mug and looked at him. "I understand that you are an OMA."

More whispering. "I am." Silver nodded.

"I do wish for you to have your own team. However, the rules are quite clear, some that even I can't… alter. From now on, you'll be your own team. Team SLVR."

There was a moment of silence, before Ruby started cheering. Then the whole audience burst into applause as well. Silver looked a bit shocked at that, Ozpin noted. "However, you will be allowed to hang around with certain teams. Therefore, you'll be allowed to work with teams RWBY and JNPR, with accommodation provided as well."

"Thank you."

"Well. You all have three days to settle in before classes officially start. So run along now."

Silver went to join his friends, while Ozpin watched as the groups all disbanded. Glynda stood next to him. "Are you sure it was a good idea to accept him? He seems…"

"Out of place? Intimidating? Dangerous?" He took another sip of his coffee. "We here at Beacon don't care about their looks, so long as they have the heart and mind to become huntsmen and huntresses. So yes, Glynda, I do believe it was a good idea."

She looked after the large figure as he was surrounded by his teammates. They were all heading to their new rooms. She then noticed that the young girl - Ruby - was on his back leaning over his shoulder.

"For a kid who's been alone for a long time, he's taking it quite well."

Ozpin nodded, a rare smile on his face.

* * *

"See, while manual reloading is fine and simple, a semi-automatic leads to quicker follow-up shots."

"But it messes up with the balance. Also, it might break!"

"That's true… after all, it's also a scythe, and semi firing does make people waste ammo more quickly… how about a straight pull?"

It was now really late, the sun right on the horizon and dipping past the halfway point. Ruby, Silver, Yang and Nora were waiting outside of the building for the others, who were still in the locker rooms and ballroom grabbing their luggage from that night. Silver was inspecting Crescent Rose while Ruby sat on his shoulder. Nora was also listening in, planning to ask about Magnhild, her own weapon.

Yang was a little pissed off. Not only because they were talking about weapons (She didn't really care so long as they worked and made things go boom) but because Ruby was essentially getting a piggyback ride from Silver. That was a luxury only her family could enjoy.

Also, she missed the days her father would allow her to ride on his back. Another price to pay for growing so big.

"Ruby, can you come down?"

"Whyyyy?" She looked down at Yang. "Ohhh. You're jealous!"

"Huh?" Yang was confused.

"You're jealous that I'm getting a piggyback ride!" She declared proudly. Yang sighed.

"No, I'm not."

Ruby then leaned all the way down, upside down, eye level with her. "Yes you are! Yes you are! You're jealous!" She sang. Yang gritted her teeth. "But seriously, do you wanna try?"

"Huh?!" Yang and Silver both looked at Ruby, who shrugged.

"What? Silver, you're bigger than her, and strong, so why don't you two try?"

Yang didn't know if she could try until she looked at him again. Despite the helmet covering most of his face, he could definitely see his cheeks turn a bit red. That sealed the deal.

"Ok, move over, sis!" Yang squared up to jump up. Silver tried to turn around, but he found himself held in place by not only Ruby but the orange haired girl, Valkyrie. "Wait!"

* * *

"So, how did this happen?"

Weiss had her hands on her hips, looking almost straight up as a very happy Yang, who was now on Silver's shoulders, whose cheeks were noticeably scarlet.

"What's wrong, Ice Queen? Jealous?"

"Don't call me that! And no, I'm not!"

Silver crouched down a bit, so he could whisper to Ruby without anyone else hearing. "So, your sister is now on by shoulders…"

"Yup."

"Your super hot and beautiful sister-"

"Yes, and that super hot and beautiful sister can hear you perfectly!" Yang leaned over his head so they were face to face. Again, his cheeks went a bit more red.

"Shall we get going now?" Ren started off with Nora on his back (for some reason), and everyone else followed.

They had a very long way to go. In fact, the dormitories were on the other side of the school, and since the day was almost over they all decided to go the long way - the outer path that let them see Vale.

"Wow. I'd almost forgotten how small everyone seems like from up here." Yang swung her legs from Silver's shoulders.

"Let's not make that a habit or anything." Jaune rolled his eyes, earning a laugh from everyone else. They all got chatting, about homes, jobs, their new schools and teachers.

"Silver? You're awfully quiet."

Everyone looked at him, and he looked up. "Sorry. Just… you know." He gestured up.

"Hey, are you saying you don't like it?"

"No! I mean yes! I mean…" He said, and they all laughed. Silver, who had slain over two hundred Grimm that day, was now flustered because of a girl.

"Also…" he started talking after the laughter died down. "It's been less than forty eight hours and now I'm giving my new… friends piggyback rides, talking about weapons…" He smiled. "I dunno, it just seems too good to be true."

They all smiled at him, and he started laughing out of happiness. And he had a very contagious laugh, very deep and long, like that of a father who'd heard a really good joke.

"Woah, now. Don't throw me off." Yang had to hold on to him with her legs to make sure she didn't slide off from his laughter. Again, he started blushing, bringing out more laughs.

* * *

"Here we are!"

The walk, while nice, had taken them a lot longer than they expected. This was partially due to them actually missing their stop while they were chatting, and by the time they realised their mistake, it was now dark, with the path lights turned on. They were all tired, with Nora asleep on Ren's back.

Despite the late hour, there were multiple students still outside and in the dormitory halls, trying to find their rooms or otherwise talking.

Silver had moved Yang from his shoulders to his back, but it was only when people started looking at him in the hallway when he realized he was still carrying Yang on his back, who was now asleep. He sighed as his sensors showed more scrolls coming out, but he was too tired to do anything about it.

"Here we are!" Weiss opened the door to Team RWBY's room, while Team JNPR went to their own next door. There was another room across from Team RWBY's room which was Silver's.

"Where do I put Yang?" He made his way in, and gently put her into the nearest bed, pulling the covers over her. He looked up to see Ruby fast asleep, face down on her bed. Weiss was under the covers as well, with only Blake being the last one up.

"Goodnight, Silver." She yawned. He also yawned, before smiling and closing the door. After a quick farewell to JNPR, Silver entered his own room.

He turned on the light, revealing the same room as before, except with only one bed and a large table with chairs instead. He carefully placed down Magnum and Patriot on the table, as well as taking off his chest piece and armor pads, boots and then removing his shirt. He went to the washroom and looked himself in the mirror. He reached to take off his helmet, but he stopped himself. _No, I swore to never do that._

He made his way to the bed, laying down on it and looking out the window. He sighed and switched off his helmet, his screen going black. He was soon asleep.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Team RWBY was busy unpacking their stuff in the room, sorting their clothes and more importantly, their beds. Yang and Ruby managed to suspend Ruby's bed up with rope and curtains, Blake's with several of her books over Weiss's.

"So what's the plan?"

"Well, we have to go get school uniforms in Vale." Weiss answered Blake's question. "Then we can have a look around as they're being prepared."

"JNPR and Silver are coming, right?" Ruby asked hopefully.

"Of course."

"Dibs on piggyback ride!" Ruby and Yang exclaimed at the same time, before looking at each other.

"You went yesterday! It's my turn!"

"You can get one whenever you want! I haven't for years, so I'm going now!"

Weiss shook her head. "Really? You're arguing about that?" Blake smiled from behind her book.

"Fine! I'll just ask him myself!" Ruby rushed for the door, but Yang jumped past her as she opened the door.

"Too slow!" She rushed through, only to immediately run straight into Silver.

He jumped back and grabbed Yang before she could fall. "Yang? Are you ok?"

She looked up, only to realise… he only had a shirt on. She could actually feel his skin and muscle through the tight-fitting piece of clothing. She immediately blushed and stumbled back, stammering. "Um, I, uh…"

Ruby popped up from his back and stuck her tongue out. "Hah! Beat ya!"

"You…" Yang looked at Silver again. "Wait… did you sleep with your helmet on?"

"Umm." He scratched the back of his head. "Yeah? I dunno, it's just kinda my thing. I've always kept it on for safety."

"Can I see your face without it?"

He recoiled a bit at that. "Ah, that's… a sensitive subject…"

Yang raised her eyebrow, but didn't press on. At that moment, Team JNPR came out and greeted them. "Good morning! Are we going to get those uniforms today?"

"Sure, just let me get my stuff…" Silver let Ruby slide off him before he entered his room. He came out again not a minute later, sporting his armour again. "Ready?"

* * *

Jaune collapsed on the ground as they left the airship. "Oh, sweet, sweet land. I never thought I'd see you again!"

"Man up, Jaune-Jaune!" Nora picked him up. "You're not THAT much of a wimp! Or are you?"

Silver sighed, as Jaune's face slowly lost it's green shade. He looked around at Vale. It was a lovely place, with high buildings, shops and restaurants, with people walking on the pavements to work or other business. Everyone was cheerful, nice, and the whole city had a nice peaceful and quiet charm to it.

Then there were the looks.

A super soldier in silver armour, a head taller than anyone in Vale, was currently walking with a group of teenagers and having a young girl on his shoulders.

Yup. Clearly Beacon students.

They entered the uniforms shop, and were greeted by the owner, who came out from behind the counter. "Hello, would you be needing uniforms?"

"What else?" Yang shrugged, earning a chuckle.

"Ok, but I'm gonna need to get some measurements for these two." She gestured to Silver and Ruby. "I can then get their uniforms ready for them."

"Right, see you later!" Ruby and Silver followed the owner through a door, where she pulled out a tape measure.

"Ok, the big guy first. And could you please take off your armor?"

He nodded, Pulling off the armor pads and chestpiece, before standing straight, arms apart. The owner started recording measurements. "Jeez, you're a big guy. You two related, by any chance?"

"No. We just met a few days ago actually." Ruby answered.

"Well, you two seem really close actually. So is that blonde your girlfriend?" She now turned to Silver, who stiffened.

"No. Actually, she's my sister." Ruby answered.

"Really? I could never guess that. You two really are… quite the opposite."

As the owner started measuring his arms, he used the opportunity to scan her. Faunus. Bear. He was starting to notice it a lot. The Faunus generally treated him nicer than his own fellow humans. As in they didn't visibly run screaming when they ran into him in a dark alleyway. But that might have been because they saw him with their night vision...

"Done! I'll start with the little lady, so you can wait outside."

Silver nodded and left the room, surprised to see Yang, Blake and Weiss still waiting near the entrance. "...Hi."

"Is Ruby out yet?"

"Not yet. But where's JNPR?"

"They decided to go out on a whole "Team Bonding" session." Weiss answered, making air quotes.

Ruby finally came out of the room with the owner behind her. "Come back at two and the uniforms will be ready."

"Thank you! Shall we, team?" They all left the shop with a final wave to the owner. "Right. Where do we wanna go?"

"Well, I have to go get new dust, as SOMEONE blew it all up!" Weiss cast a look at Ruby, who looked down at her feet.

"There's a new book being released at Tukson's book trade, so I wanted to check it out." Blake said. She seemed unusually happy, although she tried to play it off.

"Yang?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. I'm going with Ruby."

Ruby started jumping up and down. "There's a Weapon's Convention happening in half an hour! Can we go? Pleeeease?!"

Yang groaned, but Silver was interested. "Ok, I'll come."

Ruby squealed and started dragging him down the street. "Come on! Come on!"

Yang followed them, shaking her head. "Aside from bake sales, Weapon conventions are Ruby's favorite event. She gets to test Crescent Rose out against other weapons." She told him.

"Doesn't sound so bad."

"Trust me. Ruby drags me everywhere. She once tried to steal another man's weapon because she thought it was cool. Also, it gets annoying to see all the people there try to impress me or flirt with me."

"That's hardly your fault. Who wouldn't?" He clapped his hand over his mouth. Yang raised an eyebrow. Where did that come from?

"Hmm? Oh, I have an idea." She grabbed his hand and forced it on her shoulders, something he was not expecting. "There!"

"Wha…?"

"If people see me like this, then they'll think I'm taken."

"But… but we're not…"

"Shh." She brought her finger to her lips and winked. "They won't know."

"To be honest…" He scratched the back of his head. "I think I'd look more like your dad…"

"Even better! Now you can let go."

Just like she expected, there was that moment of hesitation before he brought his hand back. "Yeah… Ok…"

She wanted to tease him more. After all, such a brute of a man showing such shyness? Too good of an opportunity to pass up. But before she could they arrived.

* * *

The sniper's range ran the whole length of the warehouse and was situated at the back of the enormous structure. There were of course regular shooting ranges on paper targets, but the prize went to a very special one. A machine would toss clay targets into the air that would shatter upon even the slightest impact of a rifle, a clear indicator for the staff as they sat at the tables with binoculars, monitoring tallies. Ruby of course wanted to try it and scored twenty two before missing.

"Can you do it?! Pleeeease?!" Ruby once again gave Silver the puppy eyes, and despite Yang's annoyed sigh, he gave in. "Sure."

He came up and filed for a run. As he approached the table, the other snipers squared up as well, casting glances his way.

The system went like so. Every ten minutes, eight snipers would take their marks. At the same time, the target shooting would begin, with the last person left declared the winner and receiving four of the eight shooter's lien. That made a very nice 200 lien, not an amount that could be called small.

"Aren't you a bit out of place here? Shouldn't you be at the cage fights?"

Silver turned to the man next to him. He wore a trench coat and cowboy hat and was carrying a very interesting rifle, half sniper and half Broad-head spear, with the butt of his rifle being the blade end.

"Wanted a challenge." He pulled out Magnum, the sniper rifle extending to its full length, bipod deploying, scope adjusting and the bolt being pulled back.

"Good luck, brute." He sniggered. Silver didn't like him. In fact, all of the others were giving him looks of disapproval or cockiness.

Time to prove them wrong.

* * *

 **Wow. So many views. Then again, I'm not sure what a high number is, but I'm happy. Thank you so much for those who've read my fan-fiction so far. If you want to, follow or write a review, but you don't have to. If there's anything that you see wrong (grammar, spelling, etc.) that needs changing let me know and I'll correct it. Thank you again so much for reading and until next time, peace out!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Author's note: I'm sorry for the seemingly random upload schedule, but I am currently writing like a maniac and am actually finishing chapter sooner than expected, although that won't last. Also the fact that I'm in Japan now doesn't help with the time differences. So I guess here's the next chapter, fresh off the press. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Begin!"

The first clay target.

Boom. The heavy gunshot sent a trail straight through the middle. Silver's watcher nodded.

More and more came out. Ten. Two of the men got out. Fifteen. A third. Twenty. Now it was only Silver and two others. Thirty.

Now it was Silver verses the man next to him. Forty. Fifty.

Then.

Without warning, three at once were shot high into the air. The final man panicked, hitting only one of them. Silver waited. Watching the three start to fall, he waited. Then squeezed the trigger.

A vapor trail shot through all three at once, shattering them. And Silver won.

Silence. Then clapping. He looked up to see a crowd had gathered to watch the showdown. He picked up Magnum and put it on his back and collected his reward. He was surprised to see it was now a thousand lien. He tried to give it back but the owner refused.

"That was a fine display, boy. No one's gotten that far yet." He chuckled. "Besides, I've got more dosh than I know what to do with!"

"Give us a raise?" The banker joked, and they laughed. Silver thanked them before stepping out - and immediately being hugged by Ruby.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" She squealed. "Teach me your secrets! PLEASE?!"

"It wasn't too difficult." He chuckled. "Where's Yang?"

"She went to the arena area. Says it was boring." At that moment an explosion sounded in the distance.

"Heh. You go see her, I'll catch up." He watched as Ruby shot off in a flash of rose petals, to the shock of many passerbys.

"Hey Tai. How're the girls?"

Silver looked back. There was a man standing behind him, and the first thought that went through Silver's mind was, _Woah, he's definitely an alcoholic._ He wore a white open shirt, black jeans and had a red cape, as well as a giant sword on his back. He had black hair that was combed back and red eyes.

The man capped his flask and raised his eyebrow. "Tai? You're very quiet, and also, what's with the getup?"

Silver decided to lie. He made gestures to his throat, pretending to not be able to talk. He nodded.

"Ah, lost your voice, eh? Then you can tell me another time." He shrugged. "Thought you were still on that mission?"

Silver took a gamble and gestured to him, and he smiled. "Ah, I guess that goes for me too. Finished my mission a day early, figured I'd take a look around." He pulled out his flask again and took another swig, and Silver couldn't stop himself from folding his arms and shaking his head.

"Tai, please. I'm not an alcoholic… Wait. You know, don't you. I didn't take your 16 year old Vacuo Wine, ok?"

There was an explosion from across the warehouse, and the man shook his head. "Ah, guess that's Sunshine, huh?" He laughed and patted Silver on the shoulder. "Take care Tai. And don't worry, the kids'll be fine." He turned and walked off.

Silver watched him walk to a weapon smith, before showing his giant sword. He watched as it extended to a scythe, similar to that to…

Wait. Giant scythe, check. Red cape, check. And calling him Tai… if he remembered, Ruby and Yang both said that their father was called Taiyang…

Silver decided to get out of there, fast.

* * *

"Oh yeah! Now THAT was fun!" Yang stretched a bit as they left the small fighting arena, Ruby also laughing. They spotted Silver, but as they approached they saw he was talking with three adults, all huntsmen. They all started walking away.

"Great meeting you Tai! Hope you get better!" One of them waved, and Silver waved back, sighing. When he saw the two girls, he sagged in relief. "Let's get out of here."

"Why? And who were they?"

"I don't know! They all thought I was your dad!" He started walking with them as they made their way to the exit. "I was waiting for you outside for the past twenty minutes and I was approached by sixteen people! I had to pretend that I'd lost my voice. And that's not including on the way here."

"They thought you were our dad?" Ruby asked. Suddenly, he found her on his shoulders again. "Let's go, dad!"

He sighed. "Is that all I am? Your personal carrier?"

"Yep." Yang laughed. He sighed again.

* * *

They got a couple of weird looks, but the majority of the people on the pier thought that Silver was a soldier on leave while Yang and Ruby were his kids… or brother. Whatever they thought, their smiles and laughter weren't to be dismissed.

They were all halfway down the pier when he remembered something. He pulled out his prize money from his pocket and handed Yang six hundred lien. "Split that with your sister."

"Where'd you get this?!" She looked at him in shock.

"Prize for the sniper challenge."

"He was awesome!" Ruby jumped down and pulled out Crescent Rose, swinging it around in it's sniper form, to the shock of many pedestrians. "He was all like, BOOM, then POW, and then at the end, he waited, waited, then KABLAM! He shot three at once! He…" She looked back to see Yang sitting on Silver's shoulders. "He… you… you Traitor!"

She stuck out her tongue. "Your fault. Also, thanks for the money Silver." She wrapped her arms around his head in a hug. "You're so nice!"

His cheeks turned scarlet, feeling two quite heavy things on his head. "Yeah… Do you wanna grab something to eat? It's almost…" He checked the time on his sensors. "Wow, it's almost one o'clock already."

Right on cue, the sound of three stomachs rumbling sent them all into hysterics. When they calmed down, they decided to head to a specific seafood place on the pier.

"Sure, but why here?"

"I have a hunch…" Yang squinted into the distance, before sitting back straight. "Yup. The others are there."

They arrived within view of the restaurant to see the rest of their friends at a large table, looking like they had just sat down. Ruby flew ahead to greet them, while Yang and Silver still had a good two minutes walk ahead of them.

"So what do you think?"

"Huh?" Silver looked up slightly.

"About… all of us?" She gestured to them. "Do you like us?"

"Yang, you, your sister and all of your friends… are all my friends as well. I haven't felt this good since… a long time ago…" He smiled. "It's so nice to turn to someone and ask "Where are we going?" instead of just wandering around with a set goal. It's nice to talk, laugh and listen to others instead of being alone with my thoughts. I've missed these feelings…"

Yang rested her head on his. "You know, despite your brute looks, you're a nice guy at heart." She chuckled. "Keep the smile, it suits you." She jumped off his shoulders and took his arm. "Come on, let's go!"

He looked up, and he was met with a beautiful image. Yang, a smile on her face, pulling his arm. Behind her, his friends, all of them, looking up with welcoming smiles, waving him over. Ruby, Jaune, Pyrrha, Blake, Ren, Nora, even Weiss had a smile on her face.

It was a beautiful image. He would treasure it forever.

* * *

The figure in Bronze crouched at the top of a building, watching Silver approaching his friends.

With a sigh, she reached up and grabbed her helmet, pulling it off. It revealed a girl, around sixteen years, with short brown hair and bronze coloured eyes. She had a scar that ran from her chin up her cheek to her ear.

Her eyes narrowed as she watched Silver being led by the blond girl to the table, with everyone there greeting him, smiles on their faces.

Rubbish.

He didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve anything.

His only chance of redemption was death. For abandoning her. Everyone else, everyone they knew. They were brother and sister, they were supposed to stick together. Their plans, their parents plans, would have made them the rulers of the world.

He ruined it. He sabotaged the plans, allowing everyone to die.

Or so he thought.

He was getting lax. If he was by himself, he would have spotted her already. But because he was enjoying his time with his friends…

She at least had to thank them for that.

Bronze. That was her prefered name. She stood up and put on her helmet.

"I've got you in the perfect place, Brother. The whole world will see you suffer for what you've done…" She smiled. "And I'll make sure your actions that day were in vain."

* * *

 **Just a note, there is going to be a very (very) big time skip to the next scenes, and I'm thinking of having a separate, smaller series of stories describing Silver with different people in Beacon, from RWBY, JNPR, and others. Tell me if you like the idea, tell me if you don't, that's fine. But I hope you are liking the story so far. Until next time, peace out!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Author's note:** **This takes place a couple of months after the events of the last chapter. Now Silver, RWBY and JNPR are now well into the year, with the regular shenanigans happening between.**

 **Yang still has yet to beat Silver in a fight, but other than that they're all still friends. In fact, their friendship has improved incredibly, and now they can be considered best friends. Now the Vytal festival is around the corner.**

 **This takes place after Volume 2. This is important.**

 **They are now recovering from the Breach, with the Grimm now under control and the festival still being planned.**

 **Also, there is no Cinder, no grand master plan to destroy Beacon. This is a whole different plot after the Breach. Enjoy.**

* * *

"Hello, Silver. It's nice of you to join me. Please, sit down."

Ozpin took in the huntsman-in-training sitting across from him. He still wore the same helmet as before, but now was sporting the Beacon Academy uniform instead of his armour. He now mostly walked with a visible grin on his face, and his posture was much more relaxed. He was still incredibly fit and strong, and Ozpin believed he might have gained more muscle during his time.

"Your help during the Breach was incredible, from what I've heard. Helping the civilians to the local police station, rallying them to effectively protect them, before moving in to secure the area. You were an incredible asset in the situation."

Silver nodded. "It was completely by chance that my ship was flying over Vale when it happened. Besides, I was only doing my job, no different than the other huntsmen, police and military that day."

"Always so humble. But that's not why I called you here. The reason was for the Vytal Festival happening in a few days."

Although Ozpin couldn't see it, Silver raised his eyebrow. "Oh. I'm an OMA. I'm fighting alone…"

"Yes, and while I know you don't want to fight alone, I can't alter the rules. I trust you can do so?"

Silver grinned and gestured to himself. "You're looking at the guy who beat teams CFVY, CRDL, SSSN and RWBY, as well as all the others. The only reason JNPR won was because of Pyrrha's stupid polarity thing, throwing me out of the ring…" He muttered that last part, and Ozpin chuckled. He had changed a lot since initiation, and definitely for the better. "Very well. Looks like I have no reason to worry. Go join your friends. After all, it's a free day."

"Thank you sir." He stood up and started walking, but something made him stop and turn around. "Could I ask you a question, headmaster?"

"Hmm? Yes, go ahead."

"Why did you accept me into Beacon if I'm an OMA?

He thought for a second, before replying with another question. "Do you regret it?"

"No." No hesitation, completely honest and straight answer.

"There you go." He smiled and waved. "Enjoy your day, you and the other students deserve it."

He nodded and entered the lift, giving a last grin as the doors closed. Ozpin sighed, and looked out of his office. Atlesian warships floated over Vale, with a squadron of fighters flying over the school.

He just wished Ironwood would tell him why he brought them.

* * *

Silver walked out of the tower, sighing, before being suddenly tackled. He found himself struggling to keep his balance with Yang on one shoulder and Ruby on the other, both trying to push the other off.

"Hey girls." He laughed. "Sorry Ruby, it's Yang's turn today."

Ruby pouted and slid down, while Yang sat in triumph on his shoulders. "Hah!"

"So are we ready to go?" They were planning to go down to Vale to relax before the Vytal festival. With Torchwick in custody, White Fang operations down and the police now busting several warehouses and recovering tons of dust, the city of Vale had never been so peaceful and lively. In fact, the Grimm all but avoided the city, with the Breach tunnel now empty allowing the city to finally finish filling the tunnel.

As the three made their way to the Bullheads, several students came to talk to them. Silver had shed his scary image and was now an accepted member of Beacon by all but a few thickheaded students. Silver was now more lively, actively participated in conversation with everyone and was happy to help. No one was afraid of him anymore.

"So what's the plan exactly?"

"We're meeting up with the others to go check out the preparations for the festival. We're also picking up more clothes." Yang told him. Both he and Ruby looked at each other.

"Yeah, I don't think we need a wardrobe change, to be honest. I've got my armour, Ruby's got her dress-"

"Combat skirt!" She interrupted.

"...So why are we going shopping?"

Yang sighed. "You'll see."

They turned the corner to the Bullhead dock, and Silver and Ruby groaned. There stood Blake, Weiss, Team JNPR and… Coco from team CFVY.

"There you are!" She called them over, tapping her watch. As they all approached she started looking over Silver, muttering to herself. Silver cast a look at Ruby, who gave her a look of pity. Yang leaned down and whispered in his ear. "Just a tip, don't argue with her. It's like trying to convince a Grimm to not eat you."

Silver sighed. "Well, this should be fun."

* * *

Four hours later, teams RWBY and JNPR were at the seafood restaurant on the pier, waiting for Silver.

"Knowing Coco, they might completely skip lunch." Yang sighed.

"Well, apparently they're on their way back now. She just text me." Blake held up her scroll.

"I wonder what he's decided with." Pyrrha wondered.

"You mean what Coco decided with." Ren was busy trying to keep Nora still, as always.

"Probably something cool and amazing!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Or just wearing the same armor…" Weiss muttered.

"Hey!" Jaune stood up. "There's Coco! And…"

They all stood up and looked. Coco looked like she was trying to drag Silver out onto the street from behind a large truck, but even she couldn't make him budge. Ruby, Jaune and Yang all got up and headed towards them.

"Come on! You look absolutely stunning!"

"No!"

Coco sighed when she saw them. "Can you convince this guy to come out? He was cooperative all morning, but when we left he refused to go on the main street." She shook her head. "He even looks good."

"Lemme see!" Yang set forward, but Coco stopped her. "He's saying no."

"Just…" Silver seemed really nervous. "Just don't laugh."

He slowly stepped out for everyone to see.

He still wore the helmet, but he now was sporting a completely different image. He wore a tight yet slightly ripped t shirt that did show off his neck and torso. Over it he wore a small leather vest, which was almost invisible under his long silver coat with leather shoulders and fur-lined hood. He wore dark baggy combat trousers with black leather boots. His trousers were held up by two belts, one with a silver buckle on it. And he wore a red bandana around his neck.

"I know, it's bad… You don't need to tell me…" he looked up and was surprised. Ruby and Jaune were staring at him in awe, with Yang staring in… embarrassment? She was blushing…

"YOU LOOK SO COOL!" Ruby burst out, and leapt forward with amazing speed, inspecting him from all angles. "You look so awesome, like... like..." She struggled to think of something cool to compare him to.

"Heh." He scratched the back of his head. "Thanks?"

"Coco?" Jaune came up to her. "PLEASE can you get me something like this? He looks so…" Jaune was struggling to come up with a word other than cool.

Coco laughed and nudged the large man. "See? Told you they'd love it. Now come on, I'm starved."

He sighed and reached from behind the truck, carrying a very large cardboard box. Ruby looked at it. "What's in there?"

"My old clothes as well as my other new ones and her's as well. They decided to pack all of it in here because there was so much."

"That's Coco. But seriously, you're like that guy in that web series, the one with the grenade launcher with the giant blade!" She continued fawning over him while he sighed and went to join the others. It was only then when Jaune saw Yang still staring. "Yang?"

She jumped. "O-oh. Yeah, sorry." She blushed and looked away from Silver. Coco smiled and put an arm around the blonde.

"Quite the ladies man, eh? He was a true gentleman today, doing everything I asked. I must admit it was great trying to find a t shirt for him." She teased before following Silver to the table. Jaune had to desperately hold Yang back from throttling the fashionista, while avoiding her flaming hair.

* * *

 **Hey guys, just a note, if you're having a hard time imagining how Silver looks, a huge inspiration was a work done by Synnesai on Agent Maine from Red vs Blue, as well as other rvb characters. I'd always loved the idea of an open trench coat with combat pants and boots, and my original plan was to have him without a shirt and vest, and with jeans. But this seems more fitting to him (and cool as hell).**

 **Also, figured he needed a wardrobe change for casual events.**

 **And his helmet isn't like Maine's. Just saying.**

 **If you want to, tell me if you like the idea. If not, tell me why. Until next time, peace out!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Yang was pissed.

Despite landing blows on Silver almost three times as many times as he was to her, he STILL had over 80% of his aura left, while she had a measly 30%. And now she was, once again, stuck.

She couldn't attack because that would ensure her demise. It would be a war of attrition, and with her low aura, she stood no chance.

And defence turned out to be her bane of existence.

She quickly blasted Ember Celica twice before rolling out of the way, a rocket creating a ring of black where she last stood. Silver smiled, before hopping slightly, his rocket jump casting him high into the air before sending a barrage of rockets around Yang. She managed to destroy all of them, but jumped forward as he dived through the smoke of the explosions, slamming a fist into the ground and sending cracks running through the floor. He twisted and Yang desperately engaged in hand-to-hand combat, a shove to her shoulder sending her spinning, a kick to the back of the knee knocking her to the ground, and an elbow to the back of the head sending her straight into the floor and her aura to red. There were multiple cheers across the classroom mixed with winces as the match came to an end. Glynda Goodwitch clapped her hands.

"Good work Silver. However, there were several opportunities which could have ended the fight, as well as the use of your other weapon. As for you, Ms. Xiao Long, you started off well, but your aggression got the better of you, making you less careful."

Yang sat up, scowling, eyes red. She looked up to see Silver offering his hand. She took it and he pulled her up. "Good fight. You actually did more damage than last time."

"Yeah, but not enough." She scowled.

"You'll get there, I know it." He smiled and patted her back, bringing a smile to her face, her eyes turning back to lilac. No matter what he did, she just couldn't stay mad at the lovable brute.

"We still have extra time, does anyone else want to go against Silver?"

"Me!" Ruby raised her hand.

"Very well, Ms. Rose."

By the time she came back in her combat attire, Silver's aura was already full. They squared off in the middle of the floor.

Ruby immediately pulled out Crescent Rose and fired a round, propelling her forwards. Silver jumped up high, dodging her scythe, before watching Ruby skid to a halt on the other side, a grin on her face.

"Sorry Ruby." He said as he pulled out Magnum and it extended, sending a laser beam between her eyes. Her eyes widened and she ducked as a vapor trail suddenly appeared with the loud boom of Magnum. She cast a look behind her, the wall having an enormous crater from the bullet's velocity.

What happened next was a very quick game of cat and mouse, with Ruby desperately avoiding Magnum's deadly firepower as it shattered into walls, into the floor, and even on the protective shield setup to protect the students watching, although for split seconds the shield would have it's own cracks before it repaired itself. The students would always instinctively duck from the impact.

Finally, Silver's magazine was empty. Ruby took her chance and with another blast of Crescent Rose she shot forward, Scythe ready to slice at him. He got ready to dodge.

Suddenly, he froze, a sudden image in his head that made him freeze.

A figure flying towards him, blade swinging for the kill.

The full force of Crescent Rose's blade clashed into his armoured waist. Everyone gasped in shock. Ruby was completely taken by surprise and the sudden stop of her weapon wrenched her completely clear, and she flew out of the ring. The students all looked at the board. 63% aura for Silver, with Ruby out of the ring.

Glynda remained silent for a second, before shaking out of her shock. "Silver's aura is still healthy, and Ruby Rose is eliminated through knockout. Silver wins."

Ruby ran up to him. He was still staring, but he snapped out of it the moment she approached him.

"Silver! Oh my gosh, are you alright?"

"Yeah…" He shook his head. "I'm sorry, I… blacked out for a second."

"Class is dismissed." Glynda was still looking at Silver. "Are you alright? Do you need to go to the infirmary?"

"No… I'm fine…" he handed back Crescent Rose to Ruby and left for the door.

Yang watched him leave.

* * *

Silver was busy changing out of his uniform when Yang walked in. "Hey."

He spun around, thankful that he still had his shirt and pants on. "Yang! What are you doing here?"

"Just checking in. You seemed… distracted during the fight. And by that you went into complete paralysis and almost got chopped in half by my little sister."

"It wasn't like that…"

She crossed her arms. "Alright, I'm done playing nice cop. Spill it out."

"Huh?"

"For as long as I've known you, you've always been open about everything. So you are not pulling another Blake incident on me."

He sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed. "Just a flashback… Of my past…"

"Oh…" Despite Silver helping almost all of his friends with all forms of problems which required them to be open about their lives and basically being a phycologist for all of them, he hadn't really said anything about his own life or family, but she expected the worst. "Wanna talk about it?"

He shook his head. "I know I also told Blake to always share her problems, but this one's completely on me… I'm sorry."

She went over and sat next to him on his bed. "Are they…"

He nodded. "Everyone. My mom, dad, brother and sister. All my friends…" He shuddered. "Could we, um, talk about something else? I kinda… don't want to think about it…"

"Well then." Yang reached into her pocket and put the object into his hand. "Here."

He looked down at the object, before looking at her, a look of worry on his face. "What?"

"You know what to do. Same rules, same punishment."

He sighed and looked again at the hairbrush in his hand. "Remind me how this started again?"

"When Patriot went off in the forest and ruined my hair?"

"Ah… Wait a minute! I took out a Death-stalker that snuck up on you!"

"No excuses. You ruin the hair, you serve the punishment."

"And the punishment for me is to be your own personal hairdresser for the rest of my life?" He started combing her hair. He was completely focused on trying to not pull her hair, but it was silky and lacked any knots, so it went smoothly. "What's the normal punishment?"

"Well, it normally happens during sparring matches, so I just finish them off. As violently as possible." She cracked her knuckles and chuckled slightly at that, causing him to shiver.

"You know, I've noticed that you haven't actually used your semblance during any of our fights. Why is that?"

She shrugged. "For some reason, it doesn't work against you, same reason why it doesn't work against my teammates. I guess it has something to do with you guys being close to me, or something."

"Oh." Silver didn't actually realise that he was actually fighting that way when he sparred with Yang. So he, basically, was beating her because they were friends... Seemed a bit unfair...

He decided to change the topic. "So, the dance was a thing, huh?"

Yang's eyes lit up. "I know, right? And when Jaune showed up in that dress?" They both laughed. "Still, he's got moves."

"Psh. You didn't notice me dancing then? During that solo by Flynt Coal?"

"I don't think so. I went back to the dorm early."

"Awe man. I should show you." He jumped off the bed. "You have any of his breakdancing remixes on your scroll?"

"Umm, yeah?" She sat back on the bed, smiling, expecting him to completely make a fool of himself. She took out her scroll. 'This should be fun...'

* * *

The school's blog site was a webpage set up for the students to announce events, get help on assignments and to communicate with anything school related, although this took the form of the students posting homework for others to answer or copy, more the latter.

However, when Blake, Weiss and Ruby entered the library, almost every computer was taken, with other students on their scrolls, all of them glued to their screens. Ruby went up to where team JNPR and CFVY were sitting at the back, all crowded around Jaune's scroll.

"What's going on? What's everybody looking at?" Ruby asked.

"Check it out. You're sister posted this." Coco pulled out her own scroll and opened it, a few taps and she showed them the screen.

The video was around three minutes, and went the length of an entire breakdancing music piece. Silver was dancing, but he was simply amazing, able to pull of jaw-dropping moves that would seem inhumane to any other person. And he did it with surprising agility and flexibility considering his build. He was as smooth as a gliding snake, as fast as a striking bullet, and as badass as Flynt Coal himself.

"There's now a survey on whether the team JNPR dance or this one's better than the other." Velvet had her own scroll out and showed them a poll that was also on the blog. "It's actually really close."

"Who filmed this?" Ruby asked, but just as the words left her mouth a breathless and giggling Yang arrived. She struggled to breathe properly both from her run and her laughter. "Heya guys."

"There's your answer, Rubes." Blake shook her head.

Yang snickered. "Let's just say he's not going to be leaving that room for the next six months."

* * *

 **I have no idea what has happened with this chapter... but still, I like the idea. OC X YANG FOR THE WIN!**

 **Leave a review if you want, and if you do, please respond with your honest opinions about this, I appreciate all feedback and comments. Same as before, until next time, peace out!**


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **Author's note: Every day I look at the number of views, and every day it increases. Sometimes, I refresh the page every minute and more views come up. I'm so happy that so many of you are reading this. I never actually thought I'd get more than a couple dozen readers who'd just click it out of curiosity. Thanks to those who've favourited and followed my stories. It's only been one week!**

 **I've been receiving a couple of messages telling me that I've been releasing a lot of chapters lately. That is because I actually already have several chapters ready for publishing. There's a reason for this.**

 **In a few days I'm going to go to America for a three week west coast tour, and depending on whether or not I can bring my computer with me to keep writing, I might have to put this on hold, and if not, I then have some chapters which I can publish on the road.**

 **Thank you so much for your understanding, and for now, Enjoy!**

* * *

Silver wasn't used to all the attention given to him.

And he had Yang to thank for that.

However, he and Ruby had been dropped off that morning in a valley to the east of Vale, outside the walls of the city. Yang, Blake, and Weiss were going to meet up with them to see what they were doing, taking a Bullhead.

Their destination was in a valley between several high mountains. There were hardly any trees and the most unusual feature was a very high shelf of rock standing right in the middle of the valley, like a very tall tower. The Bullhead landed and dropped them off, before flying back to Vale. It would return in an hour.

The noise of the wind almost deafened them. They all flinched as the sound of Magnum firing sounded in their ears. Ruby and Silver were at the very edge, with Ruby using Crescent Rose in it's sniper form with Silver using Magnum.

"When we get back, we're getting you a new scope." Silver declared as they set down their weapons.

"Then can I try Magnum now?" She pleaded. Silver looked up at the others approaching and smiled.

"Sure. Just try not to dislocate your shoulder." He handed her the sniper.

"What?!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Awesome!" She took the rifle off him and it extended to over her height, it's silver body catching the light. "Whoa…"

"You see that Beowulf pack out there?" He pointed out to the distance. They all squinted at the direction of his pointed finger, to see a collection of small dots moving around. The pack was around a mile away, approximately.

"How am I going to make that?!"

Silver gestured for her to sit down, and as she put down Magnum, the bipod on the front extended so it could sit on the edge looking down the valley. "Magnum fires a special cartridge that is so fast it flies faster than the speed of sound, almost instantly. The scope is another feat of engineering that I made. Just zoom in on the target and it'll do all the work for you, such as windage and bullet drop. Then just center the crosshairs and pull the trigger." He stood up and took a step back.

Ruby looked through the scope, sighted a beowulf and focused on it's head. She slowly squeezed the trigger.

BOOM. The recoil by itself sent Ruby, who was sitting down to take the shot, to roll backwards over her head to land back sitting down, dizzy. Silver burst out in uncontrollable laughter, and he doubled over as Ruby scrowled. "I, I… HA HA HAHH… warned you! Oh, god, that was funny!"

The others all started laughing as well, and Ruby crossed her arms and sulked. Yang walked over and hugged her. "Aww, it's alright, little sis! Practice makes perfect!"

"Stop teasing me!" She tried to push her off. This caused more laughter.

* * *

Empty shell casings littered the floor. Everyone had now tried out Magnum except Yang, who wanted to try it standing up.

Weiss's first time went as well as Ruby's, and while Blake did well, she wasn't used to the recoil and had a bruise on her shoulder. Yang didn't get a try because Ruby took up the whole session, firing herself. Finally, Yang was now at the edge, Magnum in her hands as she zoomed in on an Ursa in the far distance.

"Ok, butt on the shoulder, one foot in front of the other… don't tense up." He helped Yang with her posture, before stepping back. "When you're ready."

She quickly adjusted it and pulled the trigger. The recoil was enormous, but the butt end hooked onto her arm, and there was a loud crack noise. Yang gasped and dropped the gun, clutching her shoulder which hung limp.

"Are you ok?!" Silver knelt down and held it up, inspecting it. "Dislocated. I told-"

"Don't say it, or I WILL throw you off this cliff." Yang grimaced.

"Right… this is going to hurt." He lifted her arm and seemed to place it near her joint. He was about to push it when Yang pushed his arm away. "Whoa, what are you doing?"

"Putting it back in."

"What?!" Despite popular belief, Huntsmen and Huntresses barely received injuries that couldn't be stopped by Aura. And despite Yang's record in battle, she had never dislocated any of her joints before, or broken any bones. She was slightly panicking at the idea of simply popping it back in. "Shouldn't we see a doctor, or…"

"One, it's not that bad. B, this happens to me all the time, so trust me. Third, whats wrong? Hasn't this happened before?"

"Well…" Ruby looked nervous. "Yang… hasn't really gone through these kinds of injuries…"

"Yeah, I think she's only ever broken or dislocated the bones of others." Blake answered. "She's never been at the receiving end."

"That I believe." Silver replied with a smile. "Look, just relax, Yang. It will only hurt for a second." He lifted her arm to the joint again.

"No!" She tried to push him away again. "What if you break it?! What if you put it back wrong?!"

He sighed. "Screw it." His other arm suddenly shot forward and hit her shoulder, and with a single loud pop her arm went back in. Everyone winced at the noise. "There. All better."

Yang tested her arm, and while there were a few small cracks, her shoulder was basically good as new. She flushed in embarrassment. "I'm… sorry for overreacting…"

"It's ok. Trust me, when it first happened, I was a wreck. They had to hold me down to put it back, and I actually pissed my pants."

They all laughed. Ruby was surprised that Yang was actually scared, but Ruby put it off. After all, everyone had a weakness.

"Right, I think we have a few more minutes till the bullhead gets here, you wanna keep shooting?"

"Yes!"

* * *

The moment their Bullhead touched down, Silver was swamped by several students, most of them girls. That was then they remembered the fiasco from the day before with Silver's breakdancing video. Silver turned to Yang, and she looked away, whistling.

"Silver! Please dance for us!"

"I'm your biggest fan!"

"Could I get your autograph?"

"Could you be my boyfriend?"

That last one got all of their attention. Silver now was raising his hands. "Look, I don't-"

"No, be mine!"

"No way, I was here first!"

Silver was slightly backing up as the group went towards him. Yang decided to act, and to the shock of everyone, including Weiss, Blake and Silver, she jumped up, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him on the cheek. "Sorry girls, he's already taken. C'mon, let's get out of here."

They quickly started walking away, with Yang pulling a shocked Silver behind her with the team also catching up to them. By the time they finally got to their dorms, Silver remembered to breathe. "Y-Yang?!"

She shrugged. "Hey, I feel guilty putting you through that, so I decided to help."

"And you thought the best way was to pretend you're dating each other?" Blake crossed her arms, obviously not impressed. "How's that gonna work?"

"Simple. The girls won't try to get him because he's "taken" and the boys won't mind because of said reason." Yang smiled. "See?"

"He's still gonna have fans, though." Ruby pointed out. "You only solved one problem."

"Psh. Well, we're away from them now, right?"

When they looked at him, they saw that he was sweating slightly, and he looked up quickly. "W-w-wha…?"

In their entire friendship with Silver, they had never, ever heard him stutter before.

"What's wrong, Silver?" Ruby asked innocently. Blake and Weiss shot each other a look.

"I… um… I…"

Yang jumped up and put her arms around his neck. "Well, dear sister, I am now officially posing as his girlfriend to keep his fans away from him."

"WHAT?!" Ruby shrieked.

"What, was it not obvious?" Weiss looked at her.

"P-please…" Silver begged. "I… I need to process this."

"What, that you now have a super-hot and beautiful girlfriend?" She had one of the most smug faces in Remnant on her face as she pressed her cheek to his.

"I-I…" Silver's mind was pretty much going into breakdown mode. Blake decided to intervene.

"Right, I think it's time we retire for tonight." She reached up and dragged Yang off Silver and to their room, not without protest. "Goodnight Silver. See you tomorrow."

"G-goodnight." Silver waved slowly as Weiss and Ruby followed them. Ruby gave him a guilty look and mouthed "Sorry" before closing the door.

Silver stood there for another ten minutes before he walked into his own room. Then he collapsed on his bed, not even bothering to change out of his armor. His last thoughts before he lost consciousness were:

 _Welp. I've got a girlfriend._

* * *

 **Welp. Things went from Zero to a hundred real quick. But this is also a shipping story, so screw it.**

 **I'm actually not sure about this chapter, but I'm gonna keep it in.**

 **Hope you enjoyed the story, there'll be more to come. Until next time, PEACE OUT!**


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **Just a note:** **Aside from Silver and Yang, the regular partnerships and relationships are going to happen between the characters. I'm rooting for Arkos and Black Sun.**

 **Also, we're almost at a thousand** **views! I never expected that number to be achieved. Thank you all so much!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Rumors quickly spread of the new "couple", and while some were inclined to believe it, others dismissed it as just fantasy.

Team JNPR and Coco of team CFVY all decided to see if the rumors were true. So as they waited for RWBY and Silver to arrive for breakfast the next day, they debated on the subject.

"It can't be true. Can it?" Coco leaned back in her chair.

"Well, they do seem close." Jaune pointed out.

"But to me their relationship seems more… like a sibling relationship." Pyrrha put her chin on her hand. "He's like a big brother to Ruby and Yang, if not like a father."

Ren sighed. "Remind me why we're talking about this? Look, if they're a couple, good for them. It's not our job to judge them for it." He stabbed his fork on his plate, then realised his food was gone. He looked at Nora, who was already halfway through Ren's pancake.

"Eh heh…" She laughed nervously, and Ren sighed.

That was when team RWBY and Silver arrived. They sat down with their food, and they noticed that Yang sat next to Silver. "What's up?"

"So…" Coco decided to go straight to the point. "You and Silver are a "Thing" now?" She asked, making air quotes.

"Yup!" Yang quickly squeezed under Silver's arm and leaned on his chest. He tensed up a bit, but let it slide, and continued eating. His cheeks were noticeably scarlet though. "We're a match made in heaven!"

"How so?"

"Well." She started counting off reasons. "We're both strong, we're both great fighters, we're both thrill-seekers, not to mention badass, we've bonded from the very beginning, Ruby loves both of us." Ruby looked up at that, not disagreeing. "So yes, Coco, match made in heaven, right here!"

"That was… a lot of reasons why… and rather quick too..." Silver mumbled.

"Yang, let's just tell them the truth." Weiss sighed. So they all explained to them why they were going with this - to help Silver with his newfound fame.

"You do realise it's only going to help with the girl problem?" Ren pointed out. "You'll still be asked by fans for your autograph, to dance again, and all those others."

"See?" Blake agreed with him.

"Well, the girlfriend problem would be the only thing that could result in violence." Weiss pointed out. "I hardly think they're going to start a death battle to get an autograph."

Suddenly, a ninja star thudded into the table between Yang and Silver. They all quickly looked around, but there was no one around who could have thrown it. Silver picked it up and saw a note attached to it. He opened it up and read it. " _I love you Silver_."

A metal dart hit the same place from a different angle, with another note. Silver opened that one. " _Will you be my boyfriend?"_

Now an arrow hit the table from straight above them, but there was no one there. He pulled open yet another note. " _Silver, this one is for Yang Xiao Long._ " He shrugged and handed her the note. "Here."

She read it, and as her eyes darted across the paper, they slowly turned from lilac to red. She grinned as she read it aloud. " _Yang, stay away from Silver, we know he's not your boyfriend. Back off and no one gets hurt._ "

She smiled as she leaned on Silver's chest again, causing him to shiver, not only from embarrassment but also from fear. Her red eyes glowed and her hair gave off heatwaves from the flames emitting off them. "Let them come... I'm not afraid." She chuckled.

Silver turned to Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Coco and team JNPR and mouthed repeatedly the word "Help." But they were slowly shaking their heads and mouthing back the word "Sorry."

* * *

Silver sighed at last as he entered his dorm room at the end of the school day. It turned out to be a day of complete hell.

During combat class, Yang was challenged by pretty much every female huntress in the class, and there were some Silver didn't even recognise, and he concluded that they had snuck in to take on his "girlfriend". Needless to say, the infirmary was especially busy that day.

Then during lunch, he was approached by several journalists. Apparently, his dance video got to Dust Tube (Remnant's social video site) and had well over twenty five million views in a day. He had to get Ozpin to get them off the school just so he could get to his next class (Glynda had a field day).

Then he had to sit in Prof. Port's class, and as he sat listening to one of his stories, Yang (who was sitting next to him) fell asleep and ended up leaning on his shoulder. His sensors showed that the threat level increased from 42.325% up to 99.875%. He found himself having to actually block several darts, spears, arrows and even the occasional bullet and once even a grenade (Not Nora's, though. She already had Ren) to save Yang. Professor Port was too wrapped up in his stories to notice (even the grenade).

He was so glad when he flopped down on the floor and reached to the TV. He had managed to find an XBox Dust edition for sale in a local shop and found some games that he rather enjoyed (Call of Duty Dust warfare 2, Battledust 4, Halo the Chorus Conflict, to name a few).

As the console turned on, he pulled off his uniform jacket and sat down. A couple of rounds of shooting space pirates should help him forget about the day. Luckily, the teachers had all been lax on homework.

"Whatcha doing?"

He jumped as Yang asked from the doorway. "Yang?! What are you doing here?"

She shrugged. "They're out in Vale. They decided I should stay behind. Is that a Dust edition XBox?" she pointed. Silver nodded.

"Sure, wanna play? I have an extra controller here."

"You're on!"

They decided to play a good old-fashioned fighter game, _Ninja Fighters III_. While they made their characters, they were bantering back and forth over who would win.

"I was the local champion when I was 11 years old." Silver shot out.

"We'll see, tough boy."

The countdown began, and they started playing.

Twenty five seconds later, Yang's character laid on the floor, dead. Silver hadn't even been hit once.

"Huh. My skills are a bit rusty." He noted. Yang just stared in shock.

"Again!"

"If you say so."

Again, they played. Yang got only one hit in before she was knocked down.

"Again!"

* * *

4 hours and 438 games later.

Yang's character stood victorious over Silver's character's tombstone, a sliver of health remaining.

"I… I won…" Yang said in disbelief and happiness.

"Thank god." Silver sighed, tossing the controller away and slumped in exhaustion. "Still, you beat me in hours what took me years to achieve. I'm impressed."

"Well, my skills were _grave_ ly lacking! Eh? Eh?" She said. Silver shook his head, a smile on his face. "But thanks for not easing off on me. I hate it when that happens."

"That's ok. Well, what next? How about co-op?" He pulled out Dust Warfare 2.

"I bet I get more enemies than you." She declared.

He smirked. "You're on. And you can take the tank."

"Cocky, are we now?"

"Yep."

"You're on."

* * *

When the rest of team RWBY arrived, they found Silver and Yang asleep in their room in front of an XBox. He lay on his back with Yang resting her head against his stomach on her side. The room was filled with empty snack bags and energy drink cans, and the TV was on.

"You know what? I don't wanna know." Weiss just turned and walked out. Blake and Ruby exchanged smiles before leaving the room, closing the door behind them.

However, they failed to notice outside the window as Velvet sat in a tree, taking photos. She lowered the lens, nervous. She didn't mind that they were in a relationship (she thought they were cute to be honest), but a few others "persuaded her" to do a bit of… recon for them.

She sighed as she slid down the tree. _Sorry, Yang. Sorry, Silver._

* * *

 ** _Yeah, I'm bad at naming games, but I did it to avoid copyright issues. But hope you enjoyed, until next time, peace out!_**


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

So far, the jealousy of Yang and Silver didn't go beyond glares and the occasional jab at the couple during lunch. The only time it went really physical was during the Combat classes (Yang was still undefeated, and even Silver had to deal with guys who were pissed off for him stealing their "girls").

However, after Velvet's pictures were shown and spread, things got more and more violent. Whenever Yang was away from Silver, she found herself having to check her back constantly, with bullets, arrows, and the occasional explosive sent her way. And the more time she spent with Silver, the more violent the attacks would be. It would piss her off.

But even then, the attacks were now slowly decreasing. The Vytal festival was just around the corner, and all the teams were preparing for their fights. Almost all the training rooms were taken, and Glynda found herself having to repair a lot more damages during her classes. The infirmary was also having a hard time, with doctors from the Vale hospital having to come in to help deal with all the injuries.

Silver managed to bag a training room and was currently fighting against drones and training robots. He'd set the skill level of the robots to it's maximum and was currently fighting eight robots at once. The robots would take damage through shields to represent a regular huntsman's aura, and after an appropriate amount of damage was inflicted then the robots could be directly damaged.

Silver landed on the ground and holstered Patriot on his back. He took a quick look at the screen on the wall. All eight robots were getting up off the ground, their aura each less than 25%. He'd have to bring it down to less than 15% to win.

He smiled, shifting his leg back, then crouching down. He pushed, and his foot dug into the ground for a second before he shot forward, and he brought up his fist and smashed it into the first robot, sending it flying into three others simultaneously. They all flew off the ring. The blow itself was strong enough to send their "Auras" down to the red.

He jumped back as three arrows pierced the ground where he was, and ducked as a robot swung a sword at his head. He went into a combo of punches and kicks before the robot stumbled back and collapsed. He dodged another arrow and rushed at the robot shooting at him. He jumped up, spun and sent a roundhouse kick straight down onto the robots head, driving it into the ground.

The last two robots rushed him from opposite sides, and he quickly jumped onto his arms, and kicked his legs out, smacking them in their chests. He then grabbed a mace from the one on his left and threw it at the other one. The robot went down, and he grabbed the dagger from it and and slashed the final robot across the chest. It fell.

He glanced at the board again. All eight were at different levels of aura, and all of them were less than 15%. And he was still 94%, from when he blocked a sword strike with his arm. And he had done it in his casual clothes, not his armour, which was a bonus.

He grinned, fist-pumped, then launched into a short breakdance with ended with him balancing on his hand, his coat flopping around his head. He let himself fall onto his feet.

"Impressive."

He looked up to see Ozpin sitting on the bleachers. Silver left the arena and pressed a button on a panel. The robots picked themselves up and walked back to their charging stations. "Hello, Professor Ozpin."

"I see you are still as talented as before, if not more so." Ozpin gestured for him to sit next to him. Silver jumped over the wall surrounding the ring and sat down.

"Well, I feel like I've improved a bit."

"A bit? Even I would have difficulty taking you down."

Silver looked up. "Really?"

"Yes, although for your information, that's not an invitation to a fight." Silver pouted a bit. A habit that seemed to rub off from Ruby. "But that's not why I'm here."

He looked up at him again. "Huh?"

"You've heard of James Ironwood?"

"Yeah, the douchebag who brought an army across three continents for the sake of Safety." He replied, before clapping a hand over his mouth. Ozpin chuckled.

"That is true, but there is a reason to why he brought them over."

"What? Is there?"

He nodded. "I wish to tell you, but I'm afraid even I don't know, seeing as he's the new head of security of the tournament and he's insistent on keeping it a secret."

"Why?" Silver sat up a little bit. "If it involves me, I have the right to know."

Ozpin sighed and stood up. "I'm sorry. But I'll just tell you this. Prepare. Be ready. Don't let your guard down. Our enemies, YOURS, won't hesitate to strike during a moment of weakness." He started walking out of the arena.

"Professor Ozpin?"

He looked back.

"Thanks… for everything. Not just for warning me, but for giving me a chance to prove myself in this school, and the chance to start over."

Ozpin chuckled. "You are most welcome. Now don't let me down."

"I won't." He declared. Ozpin left the room. Silver sighed, grabbed Magnum and headed to the weapon's workshop, Ozpin's words ringing in his ears.

* * *

When Silver walked into the armoury, he found Yang and Blake at the stations working on their weapons. He walked over to them and set Magnum on the table opposite of them. "Hey, guys."

"Hi!" Yang looked up and smiled. "What's up?"

"Gotta calibrate Magnum, trigger's a bit loose and he seems off balance." He grabbed a screwdriver and started deconstructing his sniper rifle. Yang nodded and walked out, saying she needing to go to the toilet. After she left, Blake looked up.

"So, how's the love life going for you?" Blake asked. Silver looked up.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "I mean between you and Yang. Are you going to step up with your relationship with her?"

Silver almost dropped his screwdriver, his cheeks red. "Um… Well, we're not official yet…"

"Yet?" Blake leaned forward, smiling. Now Silver started panicking. "Official?"

"I mean, I, um, no, that's not, uh…!" He stammered.

Blake giggled. "Yang was right, you're hopelessly shy. You're worse than Jaune."

He sighed. "I mean… It's still kinda hard to believe."

"Right. How about some help." Blake leaned forward. "I can tell you what Yang likes about you."

"How would you know?"

Blake gestured to herself. "You're looking at her best friend and partner. I mean, Yang likes to talk, and I just read, pretending to listen. But lately she's been talking about you."

"Me?"

"Yes. For one, she likes you. A lot. I mean, you're both good fighters, you both are very strong, she likes to spar with you…" She scratched her chin. "She also likes how close you are with Ruby. You're like an older brother to her."

He nodded. That was true.

"You're also very good at video games, which is her favorite hobby."

"Yeah, we play almost every day now."

"You listen to her when she needs to talk and you give good advice. And she likes your personality. Like how you're always sincere and honest, how you're always gentle with everyone. She likes how you can be tough and brave one minute, and a babbling idiot the next."

"Hey!"

"But she likes you, Silver." She looked down and started working on Gambol Shroud. "Because you're YOU. So don't change, alright? I'm saying that for all of us."

"All of you?"

"You're a great guy, don't get me wrong." She reached over and grabbed his screwdriver from his hand. "We're just worried that you're going to… y'know… change. Act differently, and we don't want that."

Silver smiled. His friends were worried about him. He reached over and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Blake, I swear on my life that I'll always be there for everyone, one way or another. You're all my friends, and I don't want to lose you all. You're all priceless to me."

Blake smiled. At that moment Yang burst in. "Aww, you're so sweet!"

Silver jumped up. "Yang?! How long were you there?"

"Since I left. And I heard that first part about us." She leaned in and pecked his cheek. "You wanna make it official?"

Silver looked like he was gonna faint. "I-I-I… I m-mean…"

"Oh, we're doing so. Let me tell you why." Yang put an arm around his neck and pulled him down, staring at him with red eyes. "I'm sick and tired of having a bullseye painted on my back. So you're going to tell everyone at dinner that we're dating, and they can stick their ideas of a relationship with you up their-"

"Oh kay." Blake stepped in. "Silver, do you want to?"

"I…" He sighed. "I… I do want to…"

Yang was surprised, eyes back to lilac. "What?"

"I… do want to be your boyfriend." He straightened up and fiddled with his hands nervously. "I mean… I do like you. A lot. And… well… I've been finding it hard to tell you so…"

Yang jumped up and hugged him, silencing him. They stood in silence before Yang dropped down, a bit red in the face. "To be honest, I was still expecting you to be in denial…"

Blake clapped her hands sarcastically, an enormous smile on her face. "Congrats, love birds. Can't wait for the wedding."

"Shut up, Kitty." They both said at the same time. They all laughed.

They didn't notice the figure sneaking out the door. Velvet shuddered as she quickly walked down the corridor.

"This isn't going to be pretty, is it?" She muttered to herself. She looked down at her camera. "I'm sorry Yang, I'm sorry Silver. I don't wanna do this again…"

* * *

 **Well, it's official.**

 **Seriously, thank you all for sticking by so far. I promise more action in the future. (BTW, that spar between Silver and the Robots was basically my first time writing a full proper fight scene. Hopefully I can get more practice in).**

 **We're at over 1,200 views! OH MA GAWD! I can't believe it!**

 **Until next time, peace out!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

 **For those who are bored, don't worry, the next few chapters are going to have more action, as well as a real plot. I'm sorry it took so long. Enjoy!**

* * *

Teams JNPR and RWB were at the table when Yang arrived at their table with Silver. The first thing they noticed was that Silver was blushing. Yang clapped her hands together. "So. Silver has an announcement to make."

They all looked at him as he sat down, and he grinned nervously. They couldn't see his eyes, but they wouldn't be surprised if they were looking between them in slight panic. "Umm…"

"You are not chickening out on me." Yang sighed, before leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. "Guess who's a couple now?"

There was silence. Then Ruby and Nora both squealed. "REALLY?! OH MY GOSH, CONGRATULATIONS!"

Jaune patted him on the back. "Congrats, man! So glad you came out with it." Pyrrha looked uncomfortable with his words, but also smiled and nodded with him.

Blake held an open palm to Ren, who sighed and slapped a couple of Lien into it. "You won. But congratulations, Silver."

"Wait. You were betting on our love life?!" Silver looked at Blake, who shrugged as she counted the money.

They were all excited for the new couple, and even Silver showed some confidence as he put his arm around Yang and pulled her in.

"By the way, why is everyone glaring at you?" Nora pointed over her shoulder.

Indeed, almost every female in the cafeteria was glaring at Yang, who poked her tongue out. She then angled her head up and nuzzled his chin.

That was when things went to hell.

A grenade landed right on the table, signalling the beginning of the second food war.

* * *

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Goodwitch, it will never happen again!"

She looked at Silver and Ruby (who was on her knees), then at the cafeteria.

Almost every table and chair had been damaged in some way, food covered the floor, ceiling and walls. And huntsmen and huntresses littered the floor, all suffering from some form of injury. There was even a guy named Frank who got stuck in the wall, although no one knew how. Medical personnel littered the site treating the injured, and the kid in the wall was being pulled out by a vehicle via tow cable.

Just another day at Beacon.

"It's alright. Your teams will go unpunished. You're dismissed. Now I'll have to see who started the… confrontation. Then clean up this mess." She sighed. "Honestly, my semblance is like a curse and a blessing…"

Silver and Ruby left the destroyed building to meet with their friends, who were gathered under a tree near the edge of the school, overlooking Vale.

They'd all pretty much come out unscathed as far as injuries were concerned, but they were all covered in food. In fact, the School decided to cancel lessons, since it was the last school day before the Vytal festival began, as well as the fact that the students weren't in the best condition for learning. Ruby was the only one without food on her. Silver's clothes were covered in eggs.

Yang, unsurprisingly, came out the worst, and she even had food in her hair, which she was still pissed off about, as her red eyes showed. She was muttering under her breath several names, which they all guessed were people who'd thrown the food. Silver sat down behind her and started cleaning her hair with a napkin. "Here, hold still…"

Silver was one of the few people who could calm her down, as well as touch her hair without being castrated. So Yang let him do so, here eyes back to lilac.

"So…" Pyrrha wiped food stains off her uniform to her best ability. "That was something…"

"Yeah! It was awesome!" Nora exclaimed, half a watermelon on her head like a helmet. "It was like a full on WAR! I rushed in and smashed everyone, and that guy in the purple hoodie got stuck on the wall!"

Ren (spaghetti on his clothes) held out his hand at Blake (covered in ice cream), who groaned and placed his Lien in his hand.

"Seriously?" Silver looked at them. "By the way, where's Weiss?"

"She's gone to the room, knowing her she's burning her uniform as we speak, since she got hit by a fish." Ruby joked, and they laughed. "But seriously, Yang. Is this whole rivalry thing over?"

Yang grinned and gestured to Silver, who was still focused on her hair. "Well, prince charming has chosen me. So they can take their love and shove it up their-"

"WELL." Silver interrupted. "I think we've been through a lot today. So how about we travel to Vale and relax for a bit?"

"Sounds goods." Jaune grinned. "But I think we've got to clean up."

"Well, of course. I mean, Blake's covered in chocolate chip ice cream ( _she was licking some off her arm_ ), Jaune's got tomato sauce in his jacket ( _he opened his jacket to reveal a red mess_ ), Pyrrha's got a pie stuck on her back ( _she realised and tried to get it off_ ), and for Yang, well... I think you're gonna want to take a shower and clean your hair really well."

"Why? What's in my hair?"

"Trust me when I say this, you don't want to know. Just use a lot of shampoo, alright?"

* * *

The two teams were now in Vale, enjoying their free day. They were all recounting their own fights against the other students during the food war.

"So what are we doing now?" Weiss asked, changed into her clean clothes (she refused to talk about what happened during the food fight).

Ruby smiled and pulled out her scroll. "Well, we gotta tell Dad and Uncle that Yang's got a boyfriend!" She opened it and was about to call him when Yang grabbed it out of her hand. "Hey!"

"Don't! Ruby, remember the last guy who I brought home? The one from two years ago?" She looked slightly panicked. "Dad broke both his legs and made him crawl twelve miles home."

Everyone looked slightly shocked and afraid at that, except Nora, who was totally with the leg-breaking part of it.

"Then the guy before that? Dad gave him a kitchen knife and kicked him into an Ursa's cage. And the guy before THAT, he challenged him to an arm wrestle match. Dad somehow broke every bone in his hand, and the other one as well. Then there was that guy called Tucker, and he-"

"Taiyang Xiao Long. the Sun Dragon…" Silver interrupted. "He destroyed an entire White Fang bank operation which involved over six dozen armed men and a former huntsman while drunk. And part of team STRQ, one of the deadliest teams ever to attend Beacon…" He nervously pulled at his bandanna around his neck. "Yang, maybe we can… wait a bit before telling him?"

Yang nodded, before returning the scroll. Ruby looked at it. "Yang, what if dad finds out that you've been keeping it a secret?"

She waved the question off. "We'll cross that bridge when it comes. Besides, it's a free day! Tomorrow's the competition, so let's go and relax!" She jumped up on Silver and sat on his shoulders. "Onwards!"

"You sure there's no chance of running into him?"

"Positive. He should be back on Patch right now."

They all laughed with relief. But just as they started walking, someone called to them.

"Ruby? Yang?"

When they saw who it was, Ruby gasped and was gone in a trail of rose petals. She appeared hugging a man with blond hair and blue eyes, a bit like Jaune, except for the soul patch and stubble along his jawline. He was wearing brown cargo shorts with a leather belt, black shoes, tan dress shirt and leather vest. He also had a metal spaulder, leather vambrace and a fingerless glove on his right arm and hand. He had a red bandana on his left arm, like Silver's on his neck. And Ruby was hanging off his arm.

"Dad! It's so good to see you! What are you doing here?! How did you get here?! Why are you here?!"

"Easy, Ruby." He chuckled and pushed her down, before hugging her. "It's great to see you. And…" he looked up to see Yang sitting on the shoulders of another man. His eyes narrowed, smile gone. "Yang…"

Silver gulped. "Umm… Hi?"

Taiyang Xiao Long cracked his knuckles. "You dare touch my daughter?"

Silver gently set down Yang. "Just in case I don't come back…" He smiled, kissing her on the cheek, before turning and running.

* * *

" _General, our spies have reported in. The Sun Dragon is with them."_

" _... Are you sure?"_

" _Positive. He had an air ticket from Patch registered under his name. Also, he's currently chasing the target across Vale. Should we take him out?"_

" _... Negative. He'll play out like the others when we strike. Continue the preparations."_

" _Yes, Ma'am." With a salute, the soldier in Bronze armor turned and left the dark room. Bronze herself leaned back in her chair. The plans were ready. She'd show them all her power, before coming out of the shadows._

 _They think the White Fang are dangerous? They think Atlas is the best military in Remnant?_

 _They hadn't seen the Allegiance of Steel._

 _Bronze smiled. World domination just happened to be a bonus to her own personal mission._

* * *

 **Anyone notice the small Red vs. Blue reference? Anyway, now the plot begins to take shape. Tai is now in the story, this should be fun.**

 **But until next time, peace out. (p.s. OVER 1,500 VIEWS!)**


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Taiyang had to report to Ozpin on why he had tried to kill one of his students, as well as taking part in a city-wide chase that ended up in a burning warehouse, multiple destroyed vehicles and a crashed Bullhead just outside of Beacon (which just happened to have White Fang members in it). RWBY and JNPR used that time to hide Silver in his room, helping him recover. He lay on the floor, gasping, multiple injuries and bruises on his body that were already healing thanks to his Aura.

"He said… so many… things…" he wheezed between breaths. "I… don't think… we should… do this… Yang…"

Yang pushed him upright. "No way, Silver. You and I are NOT splitting up a day into our relationship because of a crabby old man."

"Hey!" Ruby complained. Yang ignored her.

"You just have to prove it to him. Prove that you're good enough to be with his daughter."

Silver caught his breath. "Ok… How?"

"Well, most of the time, he challenges them on a one-on-one. But I think I can convince him to delay it till after the festival."

"And what if he refuses? What if he wants to fight the moment he leaves Ozpin's office?" Silver sighed and laid back on the floor. "Might as well get it over with."

"Then it's your funeral. Just trust me, I've got this."

* * *

Taiyang stormed down the corridor towards RWBY's room. He was still pissed off that his daughters would keep it a secret from him. If he caught the brute, he would kill the motherf-

"Hi dad!" Yang leaned out of her dorm room and rushed to him. He hugged her just as hard as she did, which would break the spine of a normal person. But they were Xiao Long's, after all.

"Yang?" He looked at her, and she rolled her eyes.

"Dad, I'm 18. I'm an adult now, I think I can make my own decisions."

"Not until you're 21."

Yang facepalmed. "Dad, you said that when I was 16 I had to be 18 to be an adult. I'm not falling for the same trick again."

Taiyang just rubbed his forehead. "Look, I don't want you falling for some… idiot who doesn't deserve you. Actually…" He looked at her. "How long have you…"

"About… hmm… a day now."

"So you barely know him."

"Dad, I've known him since initiation! He's, like, my best friend. Besides, he's a great guy, you'd love him. He's OMA."

Taiyang's eyes widened. "What?! Right, where is he? I'm definitely gonna-"

"Dad! Please!" Yang grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Just… the Vytal Festival is tomorrow, and I don't think it'd be good if he was challenged the night before. Can it wait until AFTER the festival?"

He remained silent for a good couple of minutes, before he sighed. "Fine. But I'd still like to meet him."

That was when team RWBY's door burst open and a mound of bodies hit the floor. Ruby, Weiss, Blake and team JNPR all lay in shock, before Ruby waved. "Hi dad!"

"Get off!" Silver started pushing the team off of him, as he was underneath all of them. He stood up, and saw Tai. "Oh…"

Taiyang walked right up to him. Although Silver was taller than Tai, who was looking up at him, Tai held a gaze that made Silver slightly nervous. "So. You're courting my daughter."

"You could say that." He replied.

"So why'd you run?"

Silver shrugged. "Well, you did chase me halfway across Vale throwing cars at me, not to mention trying to blow me up in that dust warehouse."

"True." He turned to the others. "Could you leave us alone? We need to talk in private."

Yang crossed her arms. "Dad. I don't think you need to give him rules. Besides, we've probably broken half of them already."

Tai took a deep breath. "Yang. Please. Leave."

* * *

Finally, Silver and Tai were alone in the room. Silver sat on one side of the table and Tai sat across him. Both were silent for a second before Tai leaned forward and pinched his brow. "What's your name?"

"Silver."

"Real name?"

"... why?"

"I like to know the names of the men who court my daughters." He replied.

"Fine. Silvester."

He raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yep."

More silence.

"Look, I'll tell you why I have a problem with boyfriends." He started talking. "When I got together with my first wife, we had Yang. But she left right after she was born."

Silver nodded. Yang told him about her mom during the rare occasions where she would be open about her life. "She told me."

"After she left, I was devastated, I could barely look after a newborn."

"Mr. Xiao Long, I will not abandon Yang, if that's what you're worried about. The only thing that will separate me from her will be death."

"That's my other point. After Raven left, a friend by the name of Summer Rose came to help. One thing led to another… and Ruby was born. But she went on a mission and… never came back." He lay his head on his hands. "I shut down after that. And I essentially left Yang and Ruby by themselves for the rest of their childhood."

Silver remained silent. He hadn't known about Ruby's mother as much, but he suspected.

"I decided to allow them to train at Signal academy and eventually Beacon. I let them do it because it was their dream. I owed them for what I put them through. But I was always worried that if they got together with someone…"

"That what happened to you would happen to them." Silver sighed. "And because we're huntsmen…"

They both stopped talking, both with their own thoughts. Taiyang finally broke the silence.

"I actually do believe you're a good person. I just don't want you or Yang to lose the other… So…"

"I swear. Nothing short of every Grimm on Remnant will stop me from being with Yang. They've all done so much for me. Before, I was a complete introvert and, admittedly, a bit of a bastard to everyone. But now… I'm more open than I've ever been before. I've changed. I look back and frankly, I'm surprised in my change to be honest."

He smiled. "Well then. I'll accept you as her boyfriend, and I won't try and kill you for it."

Silver internally jumped in the air and cheered.

"However, if you want to step up your relationship with her… After the Vytal festival, I want to see how good you really are." He stood up and headed to the door. "A good old fashioned one-on-one. Hand to hand combat."

"She's worth fighting for." He replied hastily.

"I'm surprised you didn't use the term _dying_ _for_."

"I don't intend to die."

"Good answer." He opened the door and left.

Silver waited until the door swung shut, before letting his head hit the table. "Ugh…"

Yang walked in through the door and sat down next to him. "Hey. How'd it go?"

"Well, he's cool, but if we want to step it up I'll have to fight him."

Yang remained silent for a moment before hugging him. "Thanks for fighting for me. Most people would run."

"Well, then I wouldn't be a good friend, would I?" He hugged her back.

"You'd better add a "boy" to that first part." she replied, both sitting in comfortable silence.

* * *

 **Note from the author:**

 **Hey guys. So right now this chapter is a little bit short, but I've run out of things to write for the rest of this chapter. Most of them I aim for a specific number of pages, since I first write these in google docs. But now I'm kinda deciding to abandon that idea. So now some chapters may be longer, others shorter, but I'll write as much as I need to get a good chapter down.**

 **I have so many ideas for the story, but it's between these ideas that I'm having trouble with, filling in the blanks. I'm thinking a bit too far ahead, so I'm trying to slow down and getting the story where it is on paper.**

 **Next is the Vytal festival. I only hope I can get some good fights, but I do have some good ideas. However, I'm gonna have him fight against teams that already were shown. I can't make any new teams by myself.**

 **This is the furthest I have ever got in a project so far, and I am so pleased with how it's going. While it is taking a bit of a long time to put on paper, I am confident that I can bring a good story for you all.**

 **Leave a review if you want on whatever you want to say. I don't mind, it can be a compliment, a suggestion, a correction, anything, so long as it isn't hate mail. Trust me, I've had enough of dealing with that.**

 **Thank you so much for your understanding. And until next time, peace out!**


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The Vytal Festival. It was finally here.

Silver wasn't going to be representing Beacon. That was a guarantee. So he would be going against both Beacon and other teams from the different kingdoms.

There was also going to be a special round. He would be going against Atlas's military robots, to show his skill and endurance. Ironwood didn't really like the idea, but when revealed it gained positive responses and excitement.

As for his first opponents… well…

Team CRDL wasn't going to be let off easy.

* * *

"And now. Team CRDL will be facing off against a very special guest." Professor Port announced through the microphone. "He is the first of his kind to be taking part in the Festival since… well, forever!"

Cardin and his team all tensed up as Silver walked though. He was adorned in his armor, which did make him look menacing. He grinned. "What's up, Winchester?"

"Ready to get your ass kicked?" He replied, swinging his mace. Russel, Dove and Sky all levelled their weapons.

Silver put his legs apart and slammed a fist into an open palm. The impact made a small shockwave, and he cracked his neck. "Alright, who's first?"

"Silver, as he goes by, is a One Man Army, the first to participate in this event!" Oobleck was also an announcer and was taking over. "His skill alone in hand-to-hand combat is unmatched, even with those who have their weapons. And for team CRDL, which boasts it's close range combat abilities, this may be an issue. Now selecting the environments."

Holograms appeared, randomly generating the environments they would fight in. Half the arena turned into a flat grassy field with flowers and bushes, the other into a dusty canyon.

"The match starts in three. Two. One. BEGIN!"

Cardin immediately charged and swung his mace in a wide horizontal swipe, but Silver merely ducked. Cardin kept swinging, and each time Silver merely sidestepped or dodged. Soon, all four members of the team were swinging, striking, but again, and again, and again they kept missing. Silver would occasionally punch or kick them if they got too close, eating away at their Aura.

Cardin got so frustrated that he charged and went for an overswing. But Silver just grabbed the mace, wrenched it out of his grasp and flung it at Russel, who flew back and slammed into the far wall. Eliminated through knockout. The crowd cheered.

"And the first elimination! And Silver hasn't taken even a scratch!" Port announced.

Cardin got even more angry, and in rage he swung a fist. But Silver grabbed it, crushing his hand before pulling it into a painful angle. Cardin fell to one knee, and as Silver raised his fist his eyes widened. The fist made contact, and in a loud boom he hit the ground, creating a crater. He then saw Sky and Dove charge at the same time.

He kicked Cardin, who was getting up, at the two and he slammed into them, he grabbed Cardin's leg and proceeded to swing around, the momentum increasing with each spin. Dove dived to the side, and Silver let Cardin go, who hit Sky. They both flew out of the arena, but their Auras were in the red zone already.

"And now only Dove of team CRDL is remaining! It doesn't look good." Oobleck noted.

Dove grabbed his weapon, a sword, and brought it up. Silver realized what he was doing and ducked as he opened fire with the revolver in his gun. As Silver ducked down, he ran forward, firing the whole time, before bringing his arm back to stab.

Silver clapped his hands together, trapping the blade between them. Dove's eyes widened as he stood up to his full height.

What followed next was too fast for anyone to comprehend, but they watched as Dove was flung out - straight at the rest of team CRDL, who were picking themselves up. They all slammed into the wall again, cracking the wall with the force alone.

"And team CRDL is eliminated, all via Knockout! Seriously, though, can we get a medical team there to see if they're alright?"

Silver raised his arms in victory, to the cheers of the colosseum audience. It felt… wonderful. Wonderful to have these people see him not as scary, but as… a warrior, a protector, a Huntsman.

Silver left the arena and went to the locker rooms. His next fight was that afternoon, so he had plenty of time to meet up with the others. After he changed to his regular clothes, he made his way to the seats and was congratulated by several others, including teams CFVY and JNPR (Yatsuhashi nodded. He was still sore about his loss to Silver in training). By the time he found his seat, team RWBY was already almost done with their fight with team ABRN of Haven academy. He watched as Weiss created a large slide of sorts from ice. Yang then launched herself along the ice, Blake boosting her momentum with Gambol Shroud. Yang then launched herself at the three remaining members of ABRN and knocked them all with one punch.

"Damn." He noted, watching the three slide down the protective barrier before standing up.

* * *

"Now that… was AWESOME!" Ruby cheered. They were all walking from the arena to the festival.

"I am inclined to agree with Ruby. That move was a stroke of genius on my part." Weiss stated proudly. Blake and Yang rolled their eyes.

"Well, who threw the final punch?" Yang smirked. Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind and swung her around.

"I know! I know! THIS little Sunflower here!" Silver appeared, and they all laughed.

"Silver! I saw your fight, that move with Cardin was awesome! I felt that punch from the stands!" Ruby said. "We couldn't see the whole fight though, I'm sorry."

"It's ok, I missed your fight in the beginning, but at least I got to see the ending!" He replied, an arm around Yang, who grinned. "So, what are we doing now? Next fight's not for another two hours."

Ruby slouched over. "Anyone suddenly feeling very hungry?"

"Well…" Blake started. "I know a little place…"

* * *

Jaune groaned. "I think I'm gonna barf…"

"Me too…." Silver replied, head on the table, same as Jaune. Teams RWBY, JNPR and SLVR all sat at the food stall, their enormous bowls empty.

"Ooh, ooh, aim it at the enemy!" Nora, of course, had to say.

"Nora, don't say that. But Jaune, if you ever feel the urge…" Ren looked at him.

"Got it." Jaune gave them a thumbs up.

"Does that refer to me too?" Silver asked. Yang punched him in the stomach, making him clutch his mouth. "Why...?!"

"Don't be disgusting. But that would be funny…"

" _Ahem. Would team JNPR please head to the arena? Like they were supposed to FIVE MINUTES AGO!"_ the loudspeaker crackled to life.

Pyrrha sighed and stood up. "That's our cue. See you later guys."

RWBY and Silver all let their food digest a little more before they stood up and made their way to the arena.

"50 lien they win." Yang bantered with Silver. "They have Pyrrha, after all."

He shrugged. "How about this? If they win, I take you on a date."

Yang raised her eyebrows. "Ooh, since when did you become a lady-killer, eh?" She nudged him with her elbow, and a slight shade of red went to his cheeks.

"Well, now that we're… official…" he replied, making air quotes. "I figured that this is what boyfriends do with their girlfriends."

"You're taking this with gusto!" She laughed, before jumping on his back and hooking her legs around his waist. "Onward, boyfriend, to glory!"

They all laughed as Silver broke into a run with Yang on her back, with Ruby close behind. Blake gave Weiss a soft punch to the shoulder before breaking into a sprint. Weiss shook her head, but a smile escaped to her face. "Dunces. All of them." she muttered, before following them.

* * *

Tai looked on from behind a stall. He smiled. He'd been following them ever since they left the colosseum. He saw so many emotions on their faces - happiness, excitement, _love_.

"Maybe I was a little harsh to the man." He muttered.

"Hey Tai."

He turned around and saw Qrow Branwen. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

He shrugged and grabbed his flask. "I got here a bit early, decided to look around. Besides, I gotta see Oz later." He raised it to his lips. "So are we cool?"

"What?"

"Your wine. You seemed fine at the convention." He drank.

"What convention? What wine?"

Qrow choked on his flask. "Wait… that wasn't you? Wearing the silver armor?"

Tai pointed back. "No, that's a student here, goes by the name of Silver. Why?"

He paled. "N-nothing. Say, what time is it? I gotta go see Oz now."

"Are you talking about my sixteen year old Vacuo Wine?" Taiyang started emitting a dark aura. "The one that mysteriously went missing?" His voice rose with every word. "The one I was told by Yang and Ruby that it broke?" He started stepping towards him. "The one that I was SPECIFICALLY SAVING for a VERY SPECIAL OCCASION?!"

Qrow responded by turning and running. Taiyang chased after him, roaring. "GET BACK HERE YOU BASTARD!"

Qrow cursed under his breath. "I'm gonna get you for this, _Silver_."

Meanwhile, Silver felt a shiver on his back, the same one that came when Tai was after him.

* * *

Tai was given a second warning by the Vale police after a two hour chase that ended with a destroyed construction site, an exploded gas station and a crashed airship in the ocean. It was a miracle no one was seriously harmed (except a bunch of White Fang members in said airship).


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Sun and Neptune were dancing in the arena after their victory against team NDGO, to the cheers of the audience.

"Looks like they're taking the lessons to heart." Silver noted. "But seriously, how is Neptune afraid of water?"

"Whatever. They're all dorks." Weiss shrugged, although she blushed a bit when Neptune shot her his signature grin. Blake also did the same when Sun winked at her.

"Well, next is JNPR. This should be good." Silver reached for his drink and hit an empty cup holder. He looked to see Yang drinking from his cup, before smiling and giving it to him. "Want some?"

"..." He shrugged and took it back.

"There's JNPR!" Blake pointed.

Silver and the others turned back to watch. "Well, this should be interesting."

* * *

Everyone winced as the four members of team BRNZ slammed into the protective barrier right in front of them.

"Remind me never to electrocute Nora." Silver said.

Yang nodded. "Maybe I shouldn't use that taser I bought after all…"

"Why'd you get one?"

She shrugged, a smile on her face. "It's always funny when someone gets electrocuted. You saw NDGO?"

"Ouch. Yeah, that didn't look good for them."

They all got up and left the arena with the crowds. Silver watched Weiss and Ruby leave in the direction of the airships. "What got them in a hurry?"

"I don't know. But that's the end of the fights for today. What do you wanna do?"

Suddenly, a voice called to them. "Yo! Silver, my man!"

They turned to see two people walking towards them… except one was on skates. She had pink hair and was a faunus, based on the tail Silver guessed she was cat. She wore lots of bright colors as well, but it was the man next to her that caught his attention.

He wore a dark vest over an untucked dress shirt, dress pants, silver shoes and a dark glove over his left hand. He was young, dark skinned, and wore dark rectangular sunglasses and a dark fedora with a blue trim, as well as a loose tie around his neck. And he carried a trumpet in his left hand.

"Flynt Coal?!" Silver gasped. He chuckled.

"What's up? You know, your fight was incredible, I'm just gonna put that out there."

"I'm sure you know, I'm a huge fan." Silver offered a hand, and Flynt shook it. "Your latest album, _Metal_?" Just, wow."

"I based one of the songs on you." He grinned. "The breakdancing one. I saw your video and man, my fans have been non-stop asking me to do a music piece with you."

"I… don't think so. No offence. I mean, you're awesome." Silver scratched the back of his head. "But I don't think I'm good with fans. The video was bad enough…"

Flynt laughed. "Sure, man. But after the festival, we're doing a little music gig. How about you do a little dance piece, I can play the song of your choice."

"Oh man. Dancing with THE Flynt Coal himself playing a song of MY choice." Silver grinned. "This world's crazy. My life is crazy."

"Now THAT is a new song name!" He whipped out his trumpet and broke into an improvised tune. Silver broke into song.

" _This world's crazy, My life is crazy, have I finally gone insane?"_ They both laughed. "Oh, yeah, man, that's the beginning of a song!"

Several people had gathered around and were clapping at their little lyric. Flynt gave one last farewell. "I'd better get writing, then. I'll call this little piece _Silver_. And you'll get a signed copy."

"You're awesome, you know that?! I hope we don't have to fight, I'd hate to have to kick your ass!" Silver waved.

"In your dreams!" He gave the peace sign, before he and the Faunus on skates disappeared into the crowd, which followed him.

Silver turned around to see a very amused Yang and Blake staring at him. "Umm… Hi?"

Blake put her hands to her hips. "Seriously, how are you so famous?"

"Eh heh…" He chuckled. "I don't know?"

"And you're singing…" Yang went up to him and put an arm around him. "We're having a sing off, now!"

"What?! No! Blake, save me, please!" He wailed as Yang dragged him away. Blake just shook her head, chuckling, before following them.

* * *

"Didja miss me?! Didja miss me?!"

"Nope."

Qrow pushed Ruby off his arm. "It's good to see ya kid. Speaking of which…" He leaned in. "You wouldn't happen to know where you're silver friend's at?"

"Oh, Silver? Sure, I think he's with Yang. They're dating." She stated matter-of-factly.

Qrow stiffened. "Well, this made things a lot harder…"

"Huh?"

"Nothing, nothing." Qrow ruffled her hair. "Just… gonna see your sister."

Ruby waved as Qrow disappeared into the crowd. Weiss walked up to her leader. "You do realise he's gonna kill Silver, right?"

"Whaaat? Nooo… He wouldn't do that… would he?"

Weiss sighed. "He had the same look in his eyes as your father when he chased Silver, just so you know."

Ruby thought for a second, before grabbing Weiss and shook her, panic in her silver eyes. "HE'S GONNA KILL SILVER! WE GOTTA GO NOW!" She shot off in a cloud of petals, Weiss standing in confusion before sighing and setting off at a slower pace. Ruby appeared before her and grabbed her. "TOO SLOW! COME ON!" Now Ruby flew off again, using her semblance, dragging a shocked Weiss behind her.

* * *

" _Swing all you want, like a fever I will take you down!_ " Yang finished her song, as Silver finished his dance with a sick head-spin, balancing on his head. They were in team RWBY's room, just finishing Yang's favourite song, _I Burn_. He'd changed out of his armour to a simple large silver shirt tucked into black shorts, though he still had his helmet.

Blake applauded, laughing. "Amazing! You both should consider going on tour."

They both grinned, Silver still balancing on his head as he crossed his legs and scratched his chin. "Hmm… let me think about it." This sent the two girls into hysterics.

Yang reached over and pushed Silver slightly, and he slammed onto his back. "Ow."

Blake reached out and switched off the TV and console, while Yang helped Silver sit straight. They remained in silence, every now and then one of them would giggle, causing the others to do the same.

"You know…" Silver broke the silence. "Blake. I've never actually seen you this… cheerful. What's the change?"

She shrugged. "Torchwick is in prison, the White Fang's basically off the radar, and the Grimm aren't anywhere within a two hundred mile radius of Vale. I think I can afford to relax."

"Well, relax as much as you can while having to fight against a bunch of other huntsmen and huntresses who want to pulverise you into the ground."

They laughed, then Blake sighed and leaned back. "It's nice to finally relax. No worrying about some past figure to track down. No grandiose plan to foil. I can now focus on being a… better teammate and friend."

"Wow." Silver noted. "You've changed a lot."

"Same to you." She replied. "I can't believe Beacon was the place this would happen."

"Well, you've _Beacon_ very happy lately! Eh? Eh?" Yang got hit by Blake's pillow, but then they heard an unmistakable noise.

"Snrk"

Blake and Yang looked at Silver, who looked at them. "What?"

Yang tackled him to the ground, pinning him to the ground despite his greater figure and strength. "What did you do?"

"What?! I, um… I laughed?"

Blake looked at him with wide eyes. "No one in the history of Remnant has EVER laughed at Yang's horrible puns."

Yang pulled him up by his shirt. "Did you laugh at my pun?"

"Umm… yeah?"

Yang stared at him, before hugging him tightly. Silver rubbed her back, looking at Blake. "So am I the first to ever laugh at her puns, or what?"

"Yes. How can you? He puns are the absolute worst!"

At that moment the door burst open, a breathless Ruby standing there. Weiss was behind her, but she immediately fell to the floor, eyes rolling to the back of her head.

"Ruby?! What's wrong?!"

"SilveryouhavetorununcleQrowistryingtokillyouandIdon'tknowwhatforbutyouneedto-"

"Whoa, slow down." Silver pushed Yang away softly. "Start again slowly, what-"

The window suddenly slammed open, and Qrow leapt in. His eyes looked at Silver with complete fury in his eyes and a cold smile on his face. "Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up."

"Umm, I didn't show up. You did."

A vein bulged in his head as he pulled out his sword, which extended into a scythe. "We'll see how you talk when I cut that big mouth of yours off!"

Silver backed up, but Yang suddenly stood in front of him, Gauntlets on her arms, eyes red and hair on fire. "Stay away from my boyfriend, Old Man! I'm not letting anything happen to him!"

Blake, Ruby and Silver slowly backed out of the room, pulling a very dizzy Weiss with them. They ran into Taiyang in the hallway, who was fuming. "Where is he?"

Silver just pointed at the room. "In there."

Taiyang ran into the room. Blake quickly grabbed the door and closed it, locking it with her scroll before sliding down against it. The walls started shaking as the three fought. "Ugh. So that's the Xiao Long family?"

Silver also sighed. "Yeah. I feel bad for you. They're gonna destroy your room now."

Blake stood up. "I'll get Ozpin, he'll know what to do. But today was a good day, you gotta admit."

"Fun while it lasted." Silver turned to Ruby, who was still trying to catch her breath. "Wanna come with us to get Ozpin?"

"Yeah…" She pulled up Weiss and they left.

* * *

Yang was to repair the room she had helped destroy, and was given a warning. Taiyang and Qrow were given a warning from Ozpin personally, and they promised not to disrupt the festival or the students in any way. In the meantime, team RWBY was to move to Silver's room since there was spare space.

That was only the first day of the Vytal festival out of seven.

* * *

 **So now we actually see some action. I'm sorry again for taking so long, but now the Vytal festival is happening. I might actually skip some of the fight scenes to progress the story, apologies for this.**

 **Also, team NDGO and team SSSN's fight went AFTER team BRNZ and JNPR's fight. It's a bit late to change that, so I'm sorry for this.**

 **And my song writing skills are trash.**

 **Thank you so much for sticking by until today. Until next time, peace out!**


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

 **Author's note: 2,000 views! Awesome!**

 **Thank you so much for reading my works. I never thought that something that I made for fun would get so many views. But for now, enjoy!**

* * *

Finally, team CFVY was down to one man. He shouldered Patriot and turned around. "Ahh… I knew I was missing something…"

Yatsuhashi squared up to him with his sword. He'd purposely been waiting for his number one rival to face him on a one-on-one.

"Get him, Yatsu!" Coco called as Velvet helped her up and took her to the side. Fox was already there, clutching his stomach but gave him a thumbs up. "Don't let us down!"

"Yatsuhashi can be described as the closest to rival Silver so far!" Oobleck was leaning into the microphone, very into the match before him. "While Silver has managed to retain his undefeated record so far, it has always been very close between the two, with damage repairs during their battles reaching to the thousands."

Silver squared up to the 7 foot man opposite from him. Silver was in fact a few inches taller than Yatsuhashi, another thing that fueled their competition.

He pulled up his fists. "Hand-to-hand?"

Yatsuhashi shook his head, leveling his large sword.

"You're no fun." Silver muttered.

The arena was currently divided in two, one side being a rocky plain filled with boulders, the other was an ice landscape with multiple ice formations.

Port took the microphone from his colleague. "The match begins in three. Two. One. BEGIN!"

Yatsuhashi leapt forward with incredible speed, and Silver jumped back, allowing the sword to smash into the ground. The shockwave alone sent several chunks of rock flying towards him. Silver managed to dodge most of them and those that went right for him he deflected.

Just as he knocked the last one he saw Yatsuhashi go for a low horizontal swing. Silver flipped back, and as Yatsuhashi used his momentum to swing again and again Silver kept flipping back. Silver rolled to the side as he finally brought the blade down again, slicing into the ground. He couldn't let him use that blade.

Silver went on the offensive, repeatedly punching Yatsuhashi across the face, until he let go of the blade and proceeded to block. They traded blows, but they were equally matched somewhat. Silver was trying to get as many blows as possible and wasn't able to put full power into them, while Yatsuhashi's punches had more power, with the few he could land dealing damage.

Silver jumped up and landed a two-footed kick into his chest, sending them both flying. Silver stuck a hand out to catch his balance and flipped onto his feet. Yatsuhashi landed, rolled, then leapt up. That's when he looked at his feet.

Coco's abandoned gatling-gun.

"Aww, son of a-" Silver started running as Yatsuhashi grabbed the gatling gun and held it up, the barrel spinning.

"Now remember, the usage of other huntsman's weapons are only permitted under two conditions. One, the weapon can only be one used by a teammate. And two, they must either have given it willingly or be out of the match." Port announced.

The gatling-gun opened fire, sending a hail of bullets toward Silver as he dived for cover behind a boulder. He remained there, gathering his breath, until a bullet pierced through the rock right by his head . Then another, then another.

He dived down as the boulder gave way to the firepower, and he continued taking cover behind boulders. Silver dashed across to the ice arena and took shelter behind a block of ice. He came face to face with the rest of team CFVY, who were watching from behind the protective barrier. "Hey, Coco, does that thing ever run out?" He asked as more bullets thudded into the ice, tearing away at it.

She shrugged. "I dunno."

"You dunno. You made the damn thing!" He jumped behind another block as the previous one was shredded apart. "How much ammo is gone at least?"

"Hardly any." She replied. "It has a lot."

"Then what's the extra belt you carry around for?!"

She smiled. "I'm not sure what world you come from, but a bullet belt, simply put, makes you look approximatly 48% more like a badass."

"Don't I believe that. I'll probably get one for Magnum anyway." He pulled out said weapon and fired a single shot in Yatsuhashi's direction. The bullet stuck the gun, disorienting him, and Silver charged forward.

Yatsuhashi dropped the gun and also sprinted, prepared to meet at the middle. At the last moment Silver spun, dodging his punch, and slammed a fist into his stomach, then elbowed him in the back, causing him to hit the ground. Yatsuhashi lifted himself off the ground and ran towards him again, rapidly punching while Silver defended.

Seeing a break in the attacks, he retaliated, grabbing Yatsuhashi's head and smashing it into his knee. While he was disoriented, he then proceeded to clasp his hands together and slam them into the back of his neck, slamming him into the ground. He pulled out Magnum and aimed it at his head, not that it would have mattered. His aura was already in the red, his at the very beginning of yellow.

"And the match goes to Silver!" Port declared, the colosseum erupting into cheers.

Silver holstered Magnum and held out his hand to Yatsuhashi, who took it. "Sorry man, but there's no way I'm losing."

"It's ok." He replied, surprising Silver. He'd never really talked during their fights. "Good match. You're good."

They got up and shared a brief hug before heading to the side, the crowds cheering them.

* * *

Yatsuhashi, Fox and Silver were changing out of their combat gear to their regular clothes. All Yatsuhashi and Fox did was remove what little armour they had and holster their weapons, while Silver had to take off his armour, which in itself was a hard process, then change into his regular clothes.

"So Fox… you're… blind?"

He shook his head. "No, my eyes just give away that appearance. But it helps when they don't expect it."

"And you look like a badass." They all chuckled at that. "So where's the rest of the team?"

"Changing, same as us."

"But don't they wear their clothes for both fighting and commuting?"

The two members of CFVY looked at each other, before nodding. "Well, yeah…"

He sighed as he tried to pull off his skin shirt. He had to wear it under his armour, but it was, admittedly, uncomfortable and tight. And a pain to take off. He made the mistake of trying to pull it off his arms and neck at the same time, and got hopelessly tangled. "Umm… a little help?"

Yatsuhashi and Fox both laughed. "In the end, you are defeated by your own shirt." Fox noted, a smile on his face.

"Shut up, I kicked your ass. Now help me."

They all were so busy trying to get the shirt off that they failed to notice Coco at the door, peeking in. Coco had her scroll out and was filming it, chuckling to herself, while Velvet was just watching from behind her, face red. "Coco…"

"Shh. This is art." She chuckled as she stopped filming and closed the door quietly. "I'm sure Yang will pay a considerable sum for this."

"You're planning to sell that to her for money?! That's not right!"

"Calm down, Velvet! I'm just kidding." She tossed the scroll in her hand, catching it over and over as they walked to the seats. "I'll just give it to her on her birthday. As a show of friendship."

"Ok, good… wait, WHAT?!"

"Is nothing good enough for you, Velv?"

She remained silent, knowing full well that nothing would stop her. "Fine…"

"But seriously, I'm impressed. He's got more muscle than Yatsu." She noted as they kept walking. Velvet resisted the urge to smack the back of her head.

* * *

The second day of the Vytal festival was coming to an end. Another success for teams RWBY, JNPR and CFVY, who were now more open with them. Silver walked into his room and found both teams chatting, though it was a little crowded, with the recent occupation of four certain girls. "Hey guys. Saw your match today, it was awesome!"

"Not as cool as yours!" Ruby exclaimed from her sleeping bag. Silver sat down on the floor at the side of Yang's, who lay down and rested her head on his leg. "You and Yatsuhashi were SO AWESOME! And that final move was amazing!"

Silver shot a look at Yatsuhashi, who nodded. "Yeah, well, it was nothing." He grinned. "Hey, Yatsu, want me to teach you it?"

He nodded. "That would be good. Thank you."

Silver leaned his head back. "Man, I can't believe it's only the second day."

"Only five more to go." Jaune said, lying face-down on the floor. "Boy, this is gonna suck."

"No way, Jauney-boy! We're gonna kick butt and break legs!" Nora exclaimed. Ren just sighed.

"Yeah. By the way, do any of you know if I'm gonna have to fight you all at some point?" Silver asked.

"Why? You wanna fight us?" Yang asked.

"No. I don't want to fight you."

"Aww. That's so sweet."

"Actually, it's because I know I'll mop the floor with you, and I don't want to embarrass you in front of Remnant."

"...ooh… getting cocky, are we?" Yang's eyes went red as she looked up at him. Silver merely looked down and grinned, before playing with her hair. She allowed it.

"Well, here's to a successful and relatively uneventful Vytal festival." Pyrrha proposed, and everyone cheered.


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

 **Author's note: This chapter will be a bit longer than the rest, but that's because we're finally getting to the plot. I didn't expect it to take this long, but hopefully things will finally start to take form. Thank you for being so patient, I'll try and set the story to my best ability. Enjoy!**

* * *

First day: Silver Vs. team CRDL (Silver mopped the floor with them).

Second day: Silver vs. team CFVY (Silver and Yatsuhashi agreed to spar together for last-minute training).

Third day: Silver vs team BRNZ and team NDGO (Team NDGO to flirt with Silver, who feared Yang's reaction. Said individual had to be restrained by team RWB).

Fourth day: Silver vs team ABRN and team FNKI (true to word, Silver beat Flynt Coal, though no hard feelings were present after the match).

Fifth day: Silver vs team JNPR (the match went to Silver after a lucky rocket from Patriot knocked her out of the ring. Longest recorded match in history, but agree the match should be a tie from low aura count).

Sixth day: Silver vs. team SSSN (the arena, unfortunately, turned into a floating ice field. Neptune was incapacitated quickly) and team RWBY (Silver found it hard to take down Yang, who was picked up and thrown off the ring. Crowd instantly put two and two together.)

Seventh day. Silver vs. Atlas Military (Silver was to go in a match against a wave of Atlas military Knights to test his crowd-control skills. The final match for the festival).

* * *

Silver chambered a round in Magnum, before holstering it on his back, checking that he had all the extra magazines. He then picked up Patriot, checking the dust vials on the side were full. They were what would fuel the rockets and make up their warheads. He also holstered it, before reaching into a silver box sitting on the seat in front of him.

He opened it and pulled out two silver pistols, both with special magazines in them. Fully automatic, they were rather small, but reliable and durable. The magazines would allow him to fire projectiles from special dust, allowing him to fire for a very long time.

"Those look so cool!"

He looked up to see Ruby and Yang at the door. "Ah, hello. Aren't you meant to be at the seats?"

Yang shrugged and gestured to Ruby, who was looking at the pistols with wide eyes. "She couldn't deal with the excitement. But what's with the pistols? We've never seen them before."

He sighed and holstered them on his hips. "It's a long story. I was actually planning to tell you about… my past after today."

"Oh…" Both Ruby and Yang went quiet. They'd never knew about his past, and he'd always avoided the subject, but now that he was going to tell them…

"Ok, Silver. Thank you." Ruby hugged him briefly. "Good luck in the match!"

He waved as Ruby skipped out, but Yang lagged behind. She gave him one last look as she reached the door. "Are you sure… you're ok with it?"

He nodded. "I figured it's about time. I trust all of you."

Yang nodded, but before she could step out, he stepped forward. "Hey."

He walked to her and hugged her gently. "Happy birthday."

She grinned and hugged him back. "Thanks. Snag me a robot arm, will you?"

He nodded as she gave one last smile before leaving, the door closing with a click. He sighed and turned around, shifting the silver box to the side.

Behind it was a very small yellow package, wrapped in silver ribbon. He sighed as he picked it up. He then pressed a panel on his chest piece, and a small space opened up. He then dropped the box inside before closing it.

He took a deep breath and set off for another door. In the corridor beyond, two Atlesian soldiers saluted as he passed them, another two right at the exit. He paused at the exit, the sounds of an excited crowd filtering though.

"And now, against some of Atlas's finest, our very special guest and now crowd favourite… Silver!"

He walked out, and the colosseum erupted into cheers and claps.

The first thing he saw were the many Atlesian Knights all standing in formation. However, standing behind them were three Atlesian Paladins. Two were regular models, while the one in the middle was a sleeker, slightly larger model.

"Paladins?" he turned around to the two soldiers at the exit. Both looked nervous.

"Some of you might be surprised at the Atlesian Paladins in the round. However, a certain General Ironwood had insisted on their appearance." Profesor port didn't sound pleased for the first time in the festival. "But we have been assured that Silver's skills are good enough to take them on."

"Says you." Silver muttered. He walked closer to the center and relaxed his muscles. The robots, as one, all raised their fists in a combat stance. The crowd quieted down for the match.

He cast a look to the side. He saw teams RWBY, JNPR and CFVY watching intently. Ruby and Yang waved and Nora yelled something, although it was slightly muffled out by the protective barrier that activated. But he figured that she was telling him to break their legs - something that he was happy to oblige.

"Three." He crouched down. "Two." He grabbed Magnum from his back, extending to full length. "One." He leveled it at the robots. "BEGIN!"

They all rushed him. A vapour trail pierced through several at once, and he used the advantage of their close proximity to take down several at once. But of course, the majority were on him within seconds.

Silver quickly jumped to the side as a robot swung, holstering Magnum and grabbing the pistols. He immediately smashed the butt of the gun on the back of the robot, shattering it into the ground, before going into a slaughter.

Robots attacked him mostly one at a time, sometimes two, rarely more. Every single one that came he either butted, kicked or shot as he continued.

He shot off the head of one and kicked it into another. He then jumped, two-footed another before shooting at he jumped off, flipping and sending a kick straight down to the top of the head of another. He whipped around, guns blazing, knocking them back, before continuing the onslaught.

Eventually, he grabbed Patriot and shot himself in the air, destroying several robots from the explosion. He landed at the edge and gunned down more with Magnum, grabbing his pistols and taking down the rest in a mix of shooting and hand-to-hand combat.

As Silver crushed the last robot under his foot, he turned as he heard a familiar thumping behind him. He leapt forward as one of the Paladins smashed the ground next to him.

He had to take one out during the Breach, as well as when he took on Torchwick on the highway, so he was familiar with the large war machine. As it straightened out, he grabbed Patriot and aimed it at his feet.

The robot charged, and as it got close Silver rocket jumped over it. While he sailed over it, he grabbed Magnum and fired several shots downwards, piercing the weapons and armor. The power of the sniper propelled him through the air, and he landed right on the second Paladin.

As the first one collapsed in a heap, he holstered Magnum and proceeded to grab his two pistols and fire straight down. As the Paladin started spinning in an attempt to shake him off, he grabbed the weapon on its right "arm" and fired several shots into it.

The dust bullets flew down the barrel and set fire to the machine gun bullets inside of the weapon, and Silver jumped off as the bullets started going off inside. The arm then exploded and fell to the ground. Silver then pulled out Magnum and with a very impressive shot, fired a round straight down the barrel of the other arm's weapon, destroying that one too. It then powered down and collapsed.

Silver caught his breath, before turning around. "Aw, son of a-"

He pulled up Magnum and fired at the missile that was streaking towards him, blowing it up. As he quickly changed it's empty magazine for a full one, he scanned through the smoke.

The third and final Paladin was slowly trudging its way towards him. But instead of trying to get him physically, it decided to try something else. Several rocket pods were attached to it's main body, and red lasers on its hull all centered on him, their beams ending up on him.

"You've got to be…" Silver brought up Magnum as a salvo of missiles flew at him. He shot them all with uncanny precision, but found himself rolling as the Paladin slammed it's arms on the ground where he stood. "Right, how to do this…"

He realised that the lasers were effectively guidance systems for the rockets, so he lifted up Magnum and proceeded to take each one down. When he got to the last one, the Paladin shielded it with his arms and charged again.

Silver grabbed his two pistols and charged as well, but as the Paladin struck the ground, he twisted to the side before jumping on the arm, running up it and leaping over the mech, shooting while upside down while midair. He destroyed the last laser and landed, a large grin on his face. "My turn now."

As the Paladin turned around, he pulled out Patriot. He unfolded as small screen on the left side and turned it on. A laser beam shot out and landed on the center of the Paladin's head, casting a small green dot. He pulled back the rocket launcher into the air, and pulled the trigger not once, but several times.

Multiple rockets launched in the air one at a time. As the rockets streaked towards the target, he pulled back the laser, sending the dot and therefore the rockets straight into the air. As they reached the top of the barrier, he aimed it back down on the Paladin, and the rockets went into a large arc straight back down.

The Paladin looked at Silver, and he was pretty sure that if it would have been able to talk, it would have said "son of a-".

The rockets hit it in almost perfect unison, causing an incredible fireball to explode and casting the arena in smoke and dust.

As the dust settled, Silver walked over to the wreckage and stood on top of it. The crowd erupted into cheers and claps. He saw teams JNPR and CFVY were on their feet, arms in the air. RWBY wasn't there, for some reason.

"And with that, Silver has completed the final Vytal festival match!" Oobleck announced. "Thank goodness those Paladins were robot controlled. Anyone inside would have been decimated."

Silver sighed. He was actually tired from the fight, and he jumped off the Paladin and headed for the exit. ' _Thank god, it's over._ ' he thought.

"Silver!" Ruby yelled out from the ring's archway, the rest of her team close behind. He grinned and broke into a run.

And slammed straight into the barrier.

The protective barrier activated suddenly, locking Silver inside the ring. The audience started murmuring in shock and confusion.

"It looks as if we're currently having trouble disabling the barrier." Professor Port assured the crowd, but his voice didn't carry his usual cheerfulness or confidence. "Please remain calm while the staff try to solve the issue."

Silver had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

"Silver!"

Yang desperately pounded on the barrier, to no effect. The two guards pulled out a console from the ground next to the barrier, the emergency controls.

"What's the hold up?" The first soldier yelled to the second, who was desperately tapping across the screen.

"I-I don't know! It's not responding!" He replied. "The controls have been hacked!"

"That's impossible! Who did this?" The first one yelled. "Call command, see if they can't get some engineers over here."

"What's going on?" Blake asked them.

"If we knew, we'd have solved it already! Just stand back, lady." He went to the barrier and called to Silver. "Hey, you, move to the center in case the barrier malfunctions, alright?"

Silver nodded and moved to the center of the ring, while the soldiers went back to the console.

Team Ruby all watched from the edge of the barrier as Silver made his way to the center. "Will he be alright?" Ruby asked.

"He gotta be, or I'm gonna find the person who made this barrier and castrate them." Yang growled, obviously not pleased her boyfriend was trapped in front of hundreds.

Suddenly, the terrain selector appeared over Silver, who looked up in shock.

"What? What's going on? Is this a glitch?" Weiss exclaimed.

Blake had a very bad feeling about this.

* * *

The terrain ended up on an offshore rig. The floor around Silver gave way to reveal large intersections of walkway connecting larger structures of steel, all above a makeshift ocean. The circle which he stood on was connected by four staircases leading upwards to the structures. The entire structure was made of steel, though there was large amounts of rust across the metal. There was even a fake ocean underneath.

"What…?" Silver looked around in horror. This was… "No. No no no no no…"

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" The speakers came to life. "Sorry for the interruption, but there has been a slight change of plans…"

"No no no no no no…" Silver looked around wildly. That voice. "It can't be…"

"There is in fact a new finale for the festival. A new fighter against the champion, Silver!"

"No no no no NO NO NO NO!" Silver roared. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!"

For some reason, his voice was now being projected over the speakers.

"That is right! You thought it was all over! But alas, all your hard work, your sacrifices, all were in vain, _brother_." That last word dripped with a mix of anger, betrayal and… joy. "So I think a little payback is in order."

"Payback?! YOU MADE ME KILL MY BROTHER!" Silver yelled.

"He was mine as well, remember that. But enough chit chat, let's get down to business."

Silver looked up and saw a figure dive at him from the walkway above. He jumped out of the way as she landed on the ground.

Bronze. She wore armour that was almost identical to Silver's, except that she was shorter, around Blake's height. She had a large heavy pistol on her hip, a shotgun and a flamethrower on her back. She grinned, the bottom half of her face visible, along with the scar on her face.

Seeing her, Silver was bombarded with emotions ranging from anger to hatred to shock to loathing. He grabbed his pistols from his hips, at the same time as Bronze levelled hers. They stood still, guns aimed at each other.

Her grin grew so much her teeth showed. "Well? Take the shot."

Silver, enraged, pulled the triggers without hesitation.


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

 **Author's note: I am so sorry for taking so long to actually get to the plot, but hopefully now things start moving a bit more quickly. Thank you all for your patience and for 2,395 views at this posting. Enjoy!**

* * *

"That is right! You thought it was all over! But alas, all your hard work, your sacrifices, all were in vain, _brother_. So I think a little payback is in order."

"Payback?! YOU MADE ME KILL MY BROTHER!"

Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang all stood in shock as they listened to the armoured siblings.

"What… who…?" Weiss was at a loss of words.

"That's his sister, I'm guessing…" Blake narrowed her eyes as the bronze figure landed on the ground. Ruby was just staring in horror and shock, trying to interpret what she was hearing. And Yang…

She pounded on the barrier and turned to the two soldiers, who were staring in shock. "Hey, you two! Get this thing down RIGHT NOW!"

They snapped out of their shock and went back to the screen, but nothing they did would deactivate the barrier. "God damn it, where are the engineers?!"

"They'll be here within five minutes, their ship's just docking now." The second soldier reported.

An gunfire sounded from the arena, marking the beginning of the fight between Bronze and Silver.

"He's gonna be alright… right?" Ruby looked at her sister, whose eyes were red.

"He'll be ok." she replied with confidence, but also a little hope in her voice as well. "He'd better be..."

* * *

Silver launched himself up to the platforms, before pulling out Magnum and firing at Bronze. She just dodged the shots with incredible agility, before sprinting up one of the four stairs to the platform. She grabbed her own pistol and fired several shots at him.

He ducked from the bullets, and grabbed Patriot again, launching himself to a new platform, Magnum out before he even landed. Now she grabbed her shotgun from the other hand and fired. Flaming buckshot ricochet across the metal, and Silver started running, firing while on the move.

"How are you alive?!" Silver yelled out, grabbing a new magazine for Magnum while taking shelter behind a wall.

"One of life's great mysteries, isn't it? The only thing you should know is that I'm out for revenge… and I'm gonna finish what we started." She fired several shotgun blasts at Silver, who blasted out of the way with Patriot, sending a rocket straight at her. She shot it out of the air with her pistol.

"You've gotten better since our last match…" Bronze noted, her voice clearly heard by all, including Silver.

"I had help." He fired a barrage of rockets at her, before pulling Magnum out and firing.

"Yet you've gotten soft. Tell me, does having friends do that to a person?" She shot the rockets, while dodging the sniper rounds.

He clenched his teeth as Bronze charged from the smoke of the explosions, shotgun blasting. He rocket-jumped yet again to another platform to avoid the buckshot. "You wouldn't know. To you, everyone's a pawn, a servant or a slave."

"And yet, you didn't want that. Power, wealth… was nothing not good enough for you?"

"No." He grabbed his pistols and charged at her. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me." She grabbed her own pistol and they locked into hand-to-hand combat. She was striking him over and over, while he kept missing. He swung his leg, but she merely hopped over it and proceeded to smash the but of her gun on his head.

"You're unempathetic, selfish and EVIL." He finally grabbed her and smashed a fist into her face. He then threw her up and kicked her into the metal wall, the force alone sending her through it.

"Hmm." Her voice betrayed the physical pain she was in. "I guess you want to step it up a bit."

Suddenly, a wall of flame erupted from the hole. Silver dived to the side, the heat unbearable. He grabbed Patriot and blasted himself up to another platform. Bronze stumbled out of the hole, still sore from the punch, and she was carrying the large flamethrower in her hands. "Time to burn!"

* * *

"Are you following what's happening?" Weiss looked at Blake, who slowly shook her head.

"KICK HER BUTT, SILVER!" Ruby and Yang both yelled, the latter was still hammering at the barrier.

"If we get our weapons, we can probably damage the generator to the point where it shuts down." Blake suggested.

"Good idea, I'll call the others." Weiss grabbed her scroll and sent a group call to teams JNPR, CFVY and SSSN. "Hey, everyone! We've got a plan to take down the barrier, we need you here with your weapons, now!"

"That might be a bit of a problem." Jaune answered, panting as he ran. He and the others were pushing their way through a crowd.

"Why?!"

Scarlet answered from his scroll. He was with Sage, in the locker room. "All the weapon lockers, they're… gone! They all launched somewhere, so we're pretty much useless without them."

"How is that possible?!" Yang and Ruby went to the scroll now. "My gauntlets were in my locker!"

"And Crescent Rose…" Ruby whimpered. "What if we never see her again?!"

"Frankly, we've got bigger concerns." Coco interrupted. She was in the school campus with her team. "We saw all of the weapons lockers, and they're heading to the colosseum. They should be there within the second. We're all heading back to the arena now."

They all looked up and, sure enough, dozens of rocket lockers were flying towards the arena where Silver and Bronze still fought.

"This isn't going to end well, is it?" Blake shook her head. They all turned to watch the match.

* * *

Ozpin and Glynda were watching the match from their office, with a connected call from Ironwood who was also watching the fight unfold.

"Are you sure we can't get the barrier down?" Ozpin turned to look at Ironwood.

With the general being in charge of security for the event, the intrusion wasn't sitting well with him. "Our engineers are arriving at the colosseum as we speak. They should get the barrier down quickly."

"I want to know how that individual snuck in and hacked not only the barrier controls but the speaker system as well."

"He have a hunch over who might be responsible… but that information is classified."

"Well, you are going to tell us." Glynda stepped forward, fuming. "Currently, in front of MILLIONS might I add, one of our students is being attacked and taking part in a fight to the death. If you don't tell us about who we're facing RIGHT NOW, before he gets hurt, I swear to god I will-"

"Glynda…" Ozpin interrupted. He then turned to Ironwood. "I want to know exactly who that person is. Everything you know. As for your engineers, get them working on the barrier NOW."

Ozpin rarely rose his voice, or showed any emotion, but his anger and frustration was unmistakable. Ironwood took a deep breath. "Very well."

* * *

Silver and Bronze faced each other once again in the center of the arena. Silver's armour was covered in scorch marks and his skin was slightly blistered from the heat. Several bullet holes were visible in his clothing and armour, his aura protecting him from taking damage, but his aura was, as a result, low.

Bronze wasn't faring much better. She took a shot from Magnum directly to the torso as well as several punches and kicks. Despite her agility and skill, she wasn't as strong as her brother, and it was clear her aura was also low.

She smiled. "Well. This went about as well as I expected."

"You underestimated me. Thinking I was that weak, scared boy who you could manipulate for your own personal gain." He replied, raising his fists.

"Hmm? Well, now that we had our warm up…" She snapped her fingers.

The platform structure around them fell away, and in its place was a bare, flat rock field with the occasional large boulder. "What are you playing at?"

"Answer? Look above."

He was reluctant, but when he did, he leapt out of the way as a locker smashed into the ground where he was just standing. The door swung open, revealing…

"Storm-flower?" He saw Lie Ren's submachine guns sitting inside. He looked around as more and more lockers smashed to the ground, opening to reveal all sorts of weapons. The barrier would open a small hole for each locker that came through. "What are you doing?! What is this?!"

"Just to have some fun, as well as know my potential enemy's weapons." She grinned as a locker hit the ground right next to her, swinging open to reveal Nora's grenade launcher, Magnhild. She reached in and grabbed it. "Shall we?"

Silver grabbed Storm-flower and levelled them at her. "Fine. I have no idea why you're doing this, but I'm going to kill you."

"It will be so fun for you to die by your friend's weapons." With that, she charged, firing grenades at him. He shot them, and leapt up to swing the blades. She shifted Magnhild to hammer form and swung.

* * *

The engineers arrived. Their Atlas uniforms were basically the exact same except instead of yellow markings they had green.

"How long until you can get it down?" Blake asked the two men as they worked with the screen.

"We have no way to take back the controls. We'll have to install a virus to shut it down. We should be done in a few minutes." He pulled out a special box with black markings and attached a connector to the console. "In all my life of working on this job I have never seen as thorough of a hacker as this one."

"What's so thorough about it?"

"See this?" He pulled up the holographic screen again and pressed several buttons, but they didn't respond. "I can't bring up the controls no matter what. Whoever this is, they've managed to completely sever the connections between the controls and their functions, and rewire them for their own personal use, without leaving any footprints or open doors. This surpasses even Atlas-level technological works."

That didn't sound good at all. The most advanced kingdom of them all against an enemy that was, simply, better than them…

"Blake? You might wanna see this…"

She looked up and ran to the rest of the team, who were staring through the barrier. "What's… oh."

"How'd they get our lockers in there?!" Weiss was in disbelief. "Just what is that girl playing at?!"

"She's having fun doing this…" Ruby was watching, scared. "It's all like some… game to her. Her fight with Silver."

"He'll kick her ass." Yang was leaning on the barrier, tense. She felt like it was some bad dream. Someone was trying to hurt Silver, her friend, her family. Yang's voice shook. "When this barrier comes down, I'm gonna pound her to the ground and tear her limbs off one by one."

Bronze knocked Storm-flower out of Silver's hands with Nora's hammer, but he merely grabbed the staff as she swung it and threw it away. She then leaped back to another locker as Silver rushed to the closest one to him.

"How long?" Blake called to the engineers.

"Around twelve minutes." They replied.

"Can you make it go any faster?!"

They just shook their heads and watched the fight unfold. They'd done their job, now all they could do was wait for the virus to do it's job.

"Guys!"

They turned to see team JNPR, Sun and Neptune running towards them.

"How's Silver holding up?" Sun looked through the barrier. "Wait, are those Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang? YO, SILVER! THEY'RE ALSO GUNS, JUST SO YOU KNOW!"

They watched as Silver detached the staff into nunchucks and fired the said guns at Bronze, who was swinging with Neptune's gun now in Trident form.

"Hey! That's mine!" Neptune cried out.

They watched as Silver aimed both guns at Bronze and fired, at the same time as Bronze changing Neptune's trident to gun form and firing. The resulting impact between the two projectiles sent them flying. Bronze reached into the locker she landed next to and pulled out a very familiar rapier…

"Wait… that's MINE!" Weiss slammed a fist on the barrier. "GIVE IT BACK! YOU'LL BREAK IT YOU… YOU…!"

"Umm, Weiss? Calm down, she can't really hear you." Ruby and Neptune pulled her back.

"Silver's using Crocea Mors now!" Jaune pointed as Silver charged with the very familiar Long Sword and sheath turned shield. They went back and forth, Silver making large, strong swings while Bronze used her agility to her advantage, moving quickly and attacking sporadically, being blocked by Silver with the shield. Their swordplay was incredibly fast and effective.

"six minutes!" The engineers called from the screen.

"C'mon, just a little longer…" Pyrrha spotted Milo and Akouo in the closest locker to them. "The moment this barrier comes down, we run in, grab our weapons, and take out Bronze."

"But they've got our-" Jaune opened his mouth, but was interrupted by his weapons slamming into the barrier right next to him. He jumped back in fear, the sword actually stuck in the barrier from the force of the impact. Myrtenaster was impaled in the barrier next to Weiss, who also jumped in fear.

Now Bronze was wielding Blake's weapon, Gambol Shroud, while Silver was using a very familiar pair of yellow and gold gauntlets on his arms.

"BEAT HER FACE INTO THE GROUND!" Yang roared. Silver seemed to hear her and charged, blasting at Bronze, who started dodging the shotgun blasts and firing back with Blake's weapon.

Ruby, Nora, Sun and Neptune was also cheering, but Ren had a very bad feeling. He looked at Blake, who also shot him a look of understanding.

This was a fight to the death. Only one would be left standing if they didn't get in there soon. At this rate, it would be incredibly close between the two.

The question was, who would be the one to deliver the final blow?

* * *

 **AAAAND CLIFFHANGER! But seriously, it's really hard to try and write down a fight scene instead of imagining it, it's just so much cooler and longer in my head. But I want to thank you for all the views and support in this story. And I'm not just saying that, I'm genuinely happy that you have helped me to stay determined to make this story come to life. Until next time, peace out!**


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Silver dodged Gambol Shroud, before leaping into the air and bringing his fist down. Bronze leapt out of the way as the gauntlet on his arm fired straight into the ground. She grinned and pulled the ribbon.

Silver felt something hook to the back of his leg. He cursed as he remembered Blake's weapon as he felt himself dragged down, flat on his stomach with his back to Bronze. As he tried to push himself up, he felt incredible pain as Bronze shot him in the back rapidly. His aura was almost completely drained.

"That's IT!" He fired Ember Celica, propelling him upwards and in a spin. He then smashed a fist into Bronze's stomach, who gasped in pain. He then rapidly started punching and kicking her. Uppercut, left hook, roundhouse kick, more and more rapidly. He then pulled back both fists and punched her in the torso, feeling her ribs break, firing both gauntlets and sending her flying into several boulders, the dust hiding her from sight.

He looked at the gauntlets and opened the chambers, empty shotgun shells falling to the floor. He sighed as he watched the dust still swirling in the air, before limping to the barrier.

He smiled as he saw all his friends. When he spoke, his voice was disconnected from the speaker for some reason. "Hey guys. When's the barrier coming down?"

"Are you alright?!" Yang had a look of worry on her face.

"It's fine, although my aura's gone… but seriously, can we bring this thing down?"

"The engineers say three minutes, but seriously, who was that?" Ruby joined her sister. "She tried to kill you!"

"Yeah, well, look where that got her." He gestured to the dust.

Blake also stepped up to the barrier, and watched the smoke. She scanned the ground, trying to see if she could see Bronze, only to see a figure come out of said smoke.

Her eyes widened. "Guys?"

Silver turned back. "You've got to be kidding me."

It was clear Bronze was in bad shape. She was slightly limping and clutching her side, with several ribs broken. But she was grinning as she stopped next to a locker and reached in.

"End of the line, brother." She pulled out the weapon, and Silver recoiled at the sight of the weapon.

Crescent Rose. A warning sounded in his visor. One that had come out on his match with Ruby days before, but he hadn't paid attention to it at the time.

"Ruby?" Silver backed up. "What's the blade made of?"

Before Ruby could answer, Bronze spoke. "Hear this, friends of Silver. Our family's semblance is quite unique. We can only be killed by a certain metal. I, for one, can only be killed by the metal Bronze. Our older brother was killed by Gold. And for Silver here…" She extended the scythe, the blade shining sinisterly in the light. "Guess what metal kills him?"

"Oh no…" Ruby collapsed to the ground. "I used Silver to make the blade, mixed with titanium…"

For the first time, Silver was scared. He had his back pressed against the wall. That was when Pyrrha remembered.

"Silver! Milo and Akouo! The blades are made of Bronze!"

Silver looked at the locker, at the same time as Bronze. She now leapt forward and swung, and Silver dodged as the blade smashed into the barrier and he sprinted for the locker.

Bronze converted the scythe back to it's sniper form and fired several shots at him. Silver grabbed the shield and held it up, blocking the shots, before charging forward.

Their fighting was now more cautious yet desperate. Both their aura was down, so now they could directly attack each other.

Bronze was slashing with the scythe, occasionally firing a round at Silver, who was dodging and blocking with Pyrrha's shield and stabbing with her sword.

He slashed across her arm, drawing blood, and she yelled as she dropped the scythe and proceeded to attack with her fists. He was caught unprepared as she jumped up and headbutted him, before repeatedly punching him in the face. He grabbed her and threw her to the ground before bringing up the Xiphos for the kill. But she rolled out of the way and kicked him to the back of the knees.

As he went down, he looked up to see his friends, all watching in horror and anger. He pushed himself up, but then something thin yet heavy smashed him on the side.

He looked down, and saw Crescent Rose, it's staff against his side and the blade across from him. His eyes widened as Bronze laughed.

She pulled the trigger, and the blast shot the blade into him.

* * *

"...no…"

Across the barrier, a spray of blood ran down in front of them, and through it they could all see…

Silver.

Crescent Rose was hooked into him, the blade going across his entire torso at an angle from his left hip to below his right shoulder. Blood ran down from the wound, soaking his armour and the floor with the crimson liquid.

Ruby was crying, pounding the barrier, unable to believe that her best friend would be killed by her own weapon.

Weiss looked away, unable to comprehend the shock of seeing the man who was so strong and tough this way.

Blake's eyes were wide in disbelief and horror. She wanted to look away, yet couldn't bring herself to do so. In all her life had she never seen something so… horrible.

Pyrrha sank to her knees. She couldn't do anything. She was useless, and a friend had just been… right in front of her eyes…

Jaune turned away to retch from the sight of the blood. He was exceptionally close to the man and seeing him this way made him physically sick.

Nora buried her face into Ren, who hugged her tightly, a look of anger across his face as he stared at the bronze figure through the barrier.

Neptune had to hold back Sun, who was yelling and cursing out every name he could think of at Bronze.

And Yang…

She sank to the ground, staring through the blood that ran down in front of her, at Silver. Tears flowed from her eyes, unable to believe what she was looking at.

"No… no… no, no, no no no no no…" She whispered, her voice slowly growing louder. "No no no no NO NO NO NO NOOOOO!"

Bronze looked past her brother at her friends. She grinned as she grabbed the bolt of Crescent Rose, and chambered a new round. "Poor, poor you…"

Silver struggled to stand. He couldn't believe it. And the pain…

Bronze pulled the trigger, the scythe firing, digging deeper into his body and jerking him back. Silver gasped and coughed out blood, before falling to his knees.

The cries from behind the barrier grew louder. Now the audience was also yelling out in mixed voices of anger, shock, and fear.

"You know…" Bronze noted as she chambered a new round. "Revenge, when done right, doesn't taste as good."

She fired again, and more blood poured out. Silver choked on his own blood, running down his chin and dripping onto the floor. His sight blurred at the edges of his vision.

"That doesn't mean I'm not going to savour every single moment…" She pulled back the bolt again. "Say high to Gold for me…"

She pulled the trigger.

Click.

Empty.

She hissed with annoyance. "Well, I'll settle for-"

That was when the barrier came down. There was a small patter as the blood on the barrier fell to the ground.

* * *

There was a moment of silence as they all watched each other clearly.

Yang stood up slowly. When she looked up, Bronze stiffened.

Yang's semblance allowed her to channel her injuries and pain to her strength at twice the power. The more damage she took, the more pain she went through, the more she could return.

It seemed like emotional pain also counted.

Her eyes were glowing with red flame. Her hair was literally on fire and the heat lifted it up. The amount of pain she was going through was incomprehensible, but it helped to feel the power coming from it.

"YOU! ARE! DEAD!" Yang roared and charged forward with incredible speed.

Bronze let go of the scythe and desperately brought up her left arm to block the punch.

As it connected, the sound of her arm breaking was heard by all. She cried out, but was cut off when Yang immediately punched her right in the face, the blow so powerful that the helmet cracked. Bronze was then flung almost all the way across the arena.

Yang walked slowly towards her, intent on killing her slowly with her bare hands, but as Bronze sat up she reached into a pouch with her right hand and pulled out a grenade. She dropped it at her feet, and smoke blew from it, enveloping her.

Sun, Neptune and Ren all grabbed their weapons and fired into the smoke. Nora grabbed Magnhild off the ground and fired a barrage of several grenades into the smoke. The explosions blew away the smoke, and Bronze was gone.

"Where is she?" Sun yelled.

"Guys! Silver!" Ruby called.

Yang's rage fell, replaced with dread as her semblance ended. She rushed over to him. Seeing him up close made it worse, the pain in her chest growing.

"Silver! Oh, god, please…"

* * *

Silver was starting to lose consciousness, despite the pain he was in.

He found it hard to focus on what he was seeing, but he could hear voices.

"Silver!" He recognised Ruby's voice. "Please! Don't die!"

"Stand back." This voice he didn't recognise. It was male, and he was now talking into a radio. "Command, we have a man in immediate need of surgery, bring down an airship straight to the arena."

"Silver!"

Sunflower. He saw her, although her face was blurry. The edges of his vision were turning black, but he could still recognise her yellow hair.

"Silver, please, don't go. Stay with me, please…"

"Should we remove the scythe?" Nora asked.

"No." It was Ren. "If we take it out, he'll only lose more blood."

The voices were fading. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to leave them.

He didn't want to be alone again.

"The bullhead's here, help me get him in there."

He felt himself being lifted up and boarding into a bullhead. He was sat down and felt himself being treated. And as he slowly lost consciousness, he saw her there, holding his hand. He squeezed it.

 _I'm sorry…_

His vision went black.

* * *

 **That went dark. Really quick.**

 **Now we're at the real story. Thank you all again so much for reading and supporting me. Depending on the circumstances, there might be a new chapter between a day or a week, I can't make any promises on that. At this rate I am getting a chapter done every two days.**

 **But I can promise that I'll try to write as well as I can for all of you.**

 **Until next time, enjoy.**


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

 **Author's note: Just a warning. This next part is gonna get a bit… dirty… which is why it's rated T. So if you don't meet the requirements (are underage, haven't gone through your loss of innocence, etc)… don't read this. I actually have no idea if this is in anyway correct, but I'm throwing my sanity out of the window and letting my mind roll. Enjoy!**

* * *

When Silver opened his eyes, he saw that it was almost night. He looked out a window from his bed at the setting sun through the trees.

He tried to sit up, but he winced in pain. His chest, his stomach… god, it hurt so much.

He looked down and saw two things. The first was his torso. He had an enormous scar across his body, and several stitches that were hidden underneath white bandages. They'd already stopped the bleeding, but it still hurt like hell.

The second was Yang. She was next to his bed, asleep, head resting on the edge of the bed while she was on the floor.

"She really does care about you."

He looked up to see Tai standing at the door. Then he realized that the room was different. It was all wooden structure, and looked like a home, with a table and chairs, bookshelves and a bathroom to the side. "Where am I?"

"You're on the island of Patch. Specifically, my home."

"How did I get here?" He rubbed his head, thankful that his helmet was still on.

"General Ironwood had a ship ready to take us here. You got surgery while you were on board. But that's the least of our worries." Tai walked over to him and handed him his scroll. "Look."

Silver took it. There was a news channel running and he turned up the volume.

 _"...following the attack on the OMA Silver during the Vytal festival this morning, a new army has subsequently taken over massive areas of the kingdoms. This new faction are calling themselves the Allegiance of Steel, and despite their lack of dust materials are incredibly talented and efficient with their own weaponry and military. As said before, large areas of all four kingdoms have been claimed by them, with the militaries of said kingdoms struggling to take their territories back. In other news-"_

Silver shut the scroll with a snap, waking Yang. "This is bad…"

"What's bad?" Yang sat up, rubbing her eyes, before seeing him. "Silver!" She leapt forwards and hugged him, making him gasp.

"Yang! Scar! Hurts!"

"Oh! I'm sorry." She pulled back, but Silver kept holding her close. "I'm… glad you made it."

"So am I..."

Tai smiled and headed for the door. "I'll leave you two to… catch up. You two have been through a lot today."

After the door closed, the two remained silent, before Silver spoke. "I'm sorry…"

Yang just leaned forward, tears now spilling from her eyes. "I… it… it was h-horrible… s-seeing you there, a-and I couldn't d-do anything…"

"I know…" He rubbed her shoulders and hugged her as tight as his wound would allow him to. "I'm sorry… But I'm here… I'm fine…"

"B-but-"

Silver interrupted her, holding her face to his and wiping her tears away. "There's no point on questioning what could have happened. No dwelling on the what-ifs. The only thing that matters is here and now. I'm alive and safe. And-"

That's when he remembered. He spotted his armour, clean of his blood, on a chair and pointed. "Could you bring that here?"

Yang nodded and went to grab the chest-piece, before bringing it back. Silver fiddled with the top left a bit before a compartment sprung open, and he pulled out a small yellow box with silver ribbon. He handed it to her. "Happy birthday, Sunflower."

She opened it. Inside was a small necklace. It's chain was made of gold and it had a small gold sunflower on it with a small diamond centre. She looked at it, before pulling it out and putting it on.

Silver chuckled. "Do you like it?"

Yang answered Silver by kissing him. On the lips.

Despite them being together and the flirts, they'd never actually kissed mouth-to-mouth before. He slightly panicked as he felt her lips against his.

She pulled back a bit, breathing deeply. "Don't. Ever. Scare me like that again…"

"I-I… I won't." He replied.

She nodded, before leaning in again for another kiss. This time, as they touched again, her lips parted slightly and she tilted her head, and their tongues made contact.

He leaned back on the bed as Yang pushed herself on top of him. He grabbed her hips and she put her hands around his neck. They pulled themselves against each other.

"Umm, Yang? It's… my first time…" He told her nervously as they pulled apart.

"It's mine too." She smiled, and they kept going. He reached down and lightly bit her neck, flipping so he was on top of her. She smiled as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

The night passed by in a blur, yet seemed to last forever. And anyone looking in through the window would probably have seen a white glow resonating from the bed as they made love.

* * *

Blake walked down the corridor of the house early the next morning. She was always an early riser, often reading books as early as three in the morning. But as she walked from the toilet, she walked past Yang's room. She decided to check in with her partner, but when she walked into her room was empty.

She knew that the next most likely place was with Silver, so she walked to the end of the corridor and went to Silver's door. She found it unlocked, and as she walked in she opened her mouth to greet them.

And froze.

There on the bed lay Yang and Silver together, Silver holding her close to his chest with her back to him, her arms wrapped around his. What was more shocking was their lack of clothes, which were strewn around the floor, particularly near the bed.

Blake's face went red as she quickly put two and two together. She quickly checked the corridor before closing the door. She then turned back to the two and watched them, thinking what to do.

Thankfully, their bodies were mostly covered by the blanket, but only up to their waists. Blake noticed a small necklace around Yang's neck, the only article of clothing on her.

Blake decided to act.

"Yang?" She whispered, leaning in. "Yang?"

She slowly opened her eyes, before looking at Blake. She smiled. "Heya, Blake."

"Are… You… What?"

She looked back a bit at Silver, who was still asleep, before looking back at her. "Yeah… we did it. By the way, those smut books of yours really helped a lot."

Blake blushed again. "They're not… I mean… isn't this a bit… soon? Was he alright? I mean, his scar..."

"I don't know, but after a while he seemed fine." Yang's eyes went unfocused, an expression of pleasure on her face. "It was so good…"

"Yang. Stop." Blake rubbed her face, trying to get the image of her partner with Silver out of her head, without much success. "What's your dad going to think about this?"

"I don't care…" She shifted slightly, snuggling closer to him, head under his chin. That was when Silver woke up.

"Oh… Hey Blake." Silver did seem embarrassed, but he just pulled Yang closer to him. "I forgot the door was unlocked."

"So what are you going to do?" Blake felt awkward talking to her friends while they were naked. "I mean, Silver, what's Tai going to think?"

"Well… what he doesn't know can't hurt him." He shrugged.

"I can't believe you two." Blake shook her head.

"Don't worry, Blake, you'll get to fix your virginity with Sun." Yang teased, causing Blake to turn red again. "Trust me, you'll love it. It's great, especially the first time."

"You know what? I'm out." She walked out the door with her hands in the air and face scarlet, letting it shut behind her.

The two laid in bed laughing for a bit before settling into a comfortable silence. Silver spoke. "I think we should get up now."

"I don't wanna." Yang whined, trying to hold on to him, but Silver smiled and sat up. He rubbed his scar as he stood up straight and stretched, wincing in slight pain. It didn't hurt as much as the day before, for some reason.

"Me neither, Sunflower." He kissed her forehead before standing up and walked to the bathroom in his room.

Yang stared after him for a while before looking at the necklace still around her neck. She smiled before standing up and grabbing her clothes off the floor. "Best. Birthday. Ever."

* * *

Blake walked down the corridor, trying to get the image out of her head and the blush off her face.

Really? They did it? She just didn't know what to believe anymore. Then again, Yang WAS now 18 years old, so it was legal, and Silver was as well. But Yang's teasing with Sun? They weren't even a thing! That little b-

Blake was still deep in thought when she slammed into someone in the corridor, who grabbed her to stop her from falling. "Blake? Are you alright?"

She looked up to see Sun, who'd just come from the bathroom. He only wore a pair of sleeping shorts, exposing his chest for the world to see. Blake turned red at the sight and pushed him away, not-too appropriate images flying through her head. "I-I, yeah, um... I g-gotta go!"

She rushed past down the stairs, leaving Sun to stand there incredibly confused.

He went back to his room which he was sharing with Neptune. He was currently sat on his own bed, researching on his computer. "What's up?" He asked.

"Well, Blake's acting weird."

"How so?" He looked away from the screen, eyebrow raised.

"Well, when she ran into me, she blushed when she saw my chest."

"Isn't that the normal reaction for girls? You're, like, the reason for our team's fan club."

"No! She's almost never acted that way before, and I always have my abs out." He flexed for emphasis. Neptune rolled his eyes.

"To be honest, I think we have bigger issues at hand." He gestured to the screen, which showed Vacuo soldiers marching through a settlement somewhere in a desert towards a distant battlefield, smoke rising into the sky.

"... Fine..." Sun flopped back on his mattress on the floor, which he had spent the night on, and sighed. He used his tail to grab a book from the shelf next to him, but he couldn't concentrate. He thought about reasons why she would act that way, but he shook his head. 'There's no way.' he thought.

* * *

 **Oh kaaay…. Wow… I seriously let my imagination run free…**

 **I actually had a more… descriptive scene in the writing, but I decided not to post it. Not really what this story's about. But I'll try and get some other action in the next few chapters.**

 **Also, for those who noticed, when Yang was talking with Tai in the past chapter before the Vytal Festival, she did say that she was 18 years old. But that was a mistake on my part. NOW she's 18 years old, she only said that to Tai because there was less than a week before she was that age.**

 **Thank you all who've stuck by from the beginning, and those who have just started reading. We're at Plus 3,000 views! You all give me the motivation to keep writing, and thank you so much. Until next time, Peace out!**


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

 **Author's note: Wow. Chapter 20 already! I'm actually surprised at how far we've gotten in this story. And I have much more planned.**

 **Seriously, thank all of you. Your support has helped to motivate me to keep going with this story. I now have a proper reason to write as good as I can. But this is still a hobby on top of it all. Thank you all so much, and Enjoy!**

* * *

When Silver arrived at the table where everyone was talking, Ruby stood up and left the room in a hurry. Silver looked as she ran out of the house. "Where's Ruby going?"

Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other. "She blames herself for what happened yesterday. Speaking of which, are you alright?"

Silver nodded, before standing up. "Let Tai know where I am, alright?" He then went after Ruby, but not before smiling at Yang as he ran out.

"It's amazing how fast he can recover." Ren noted as he came from the kitchen carrying a stack of pancakes.

"Yeah. Speaking of which, what was that smile he gave you?" Neptune turned to Yang, who shrugged.

"I'm her girlfriend. Plus I looked after him last night."

Weiss grinned at her answer. "Care to explain the love bite on your neck?"

Yang's eyes widened as she reached for her neck. She looked at a mirror on the wall and spotted the mark on the side of her neck. "Oh… I, uh…"

"Ren? What's a love bite?" Nora asked as she dug into her pancakes. Jaune also asked the same thing to him. Ren struggled to come up with an answer while Pyrrha blushed.

Sun turned to Blake next to him. "Are you following any of this?"

She just held the book she was reading closer to her face, hiding her red face. "Nope. Not at all."

* * *

"Ruby!"

Silver struggled to run after the girl. She was fast, and with his scar he couldn't sprint properly without it threatening to open again.

He tripped over a root and hit the ground, hissing in pain. He pushed himself up. "Ruby, please! Stop!"

She finally stopped running, and when he caught up he slumped over, panting. "Ruby, what's wrong? Why are you running?"

Ruby turned, and her eyes were filled with tears. She tried to speak, but couldn't. Silver reached out, but she stepped back.

"Ruby, please. It wasn't your fault." Silver reached out again, and this time Ruby let him hug her.

"B-but… you almost died!" She screamed out loud, sobbing. "I almost killed you, I-"

"No you didn't. It was Bronze who almost killed me, not you."

"But... Crescent Rose…"

"You couldn't have known that silver was my weakness. But hey, look at it this way." He smiled. "You have Crescent Rose back, so the only way she can get it back is through you."

Ruby sobbed for a few more minutes, but after she calmed down her silver eyes looked up to him. "If she comes anywhere near you or my weapon, I'll tie her up and feed her to an Ursa."

"Well, when she comes for us, you'll have every opportunity to do that."

Ruby wiped her eyes. "That's not going to happen."

"What do you mean?"

"It said so on the news. Aside from the land which they've got now, they're not going anywhere else. No one is going outside of their territories, so I think we're safe." She gave a shaky sigh. "I'm… sorry… for running."

He gave her another hug, one that she returned. "It's ok. We've all been through a lot."

They both started walking back. "But." Ruby looked at him. "I'm still changing the blade."

"How about you mix it with bronze?" He joked, and they both chuckled.

"I can't. We've got no bronze, but if we had I would surely do that."

They finally reached the house again after another few minutes of walking. When they walked in, they found most of their friends around Yang, who was covering her face.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked. Jaune and Pyrrha looked up, happy that she was back.

"Well, after what they found out… How about you ask your sister?" Weiss asked with a very large grin on her face. Yang glared at her, face as red as her eyes.

"DON'T TELL HER." She growled. She then turned to Silver, her face softening slightly. "Does she know?"

"Know what?" Ruby turned to Silver, who was now red faced. "Did I miss something? Why are you blushing?" She pointed to Yang. "And what's that mark on your neck?"

* * *

The next few days were spent by the huntsmen and huntresses on recovering and training.

True to their words, the Allegiance of Steel didn't attempt to take any more land than what they had. The territories taken were mostly mining areas and mountains. Atlas and Mistral were hit particularly hard with this.

They released new laws in their captured territories to the locals who were still there, such as taxes and curfews. However, an unpopular one was that any Huntsman or Huntress caught in their new kingdom was to be immediately shot on sight or executed, if not detained and deported.

Already, several had met their demise in the territories, and this stained the image of the new nation. Atlas and Vacuo were still fighting on the borders, while Vale and Mistral attempted to keep hostilities and combat to a minimum.

Currently residing on the island of Patch, team RWBY, JNPR, Sun and Neptune were all recovering from the attack. Sun, Neptune and team JNPR had run into Bronze's forces on the way to Patch and managed to fight them off. CFVY and the other huntsmen and huntresses had stayed behind in Vale and Beacon in case of an attack against the school.

Silver's scar was healing well, but it was still sore most of the time. But he kept training as hard as he could with the other huntresses and huntsmen to increase his skill and strength.

Ruby was still finding it hard to not blame herself for Silver's wound, but she was focusing on making a new blade for Crescent Rose. She was trying to get her hand on Bronze still, but all the weapon smiths on the island for some reason had none of the metal anywhere. After all, it wasn't really important for weapons or construction as much.

Pyrrha's weapons weren't actually made of bronze, but were lined with copper instead. She swore to avenge her friend and has since been training as hard as she could against not only the others but with Qrow and Tai.

Jaune, Nora and Ren were continuously training to prepare for when they would fight against Bronze or the Allegiance of Steel. Jaune especially, as he saw Silver as his brother. They personally trained with each other.

Weiss reached out to the SDC to find out as much as she could about their new enemy and their movements. She also called in Winter Schnee for reports from the Atlas military and their intentions.

Blake was helping Weiss with her research, but was still distracted by Sun, who insisted on helping her with Neptune.

Qrow stayed for a few days but left afterwards, supposedly on a mission set by Ozpin.

Yang was personally training with Silver for the upcoming journey they would take. Their relationship now became more and more close.

As for Tai… he found out eventually. And challenged Silver to a fight. Cost of losing? Silver would never be able to reproduce ever again.

Silver fought hard.

Approximately a quarter of the forest was destroyed during the five hour fight to the death, but Silver managed to survive. He then got Tai's consent. Not that Tai was happy about it, but there wasn't anything he could do now.

* * *

A week later…

Silver lay on the bank of a small river in the forest behind the house. He'd found the place during his spar with Tai a few days before and found the place peaceful.

His scar was still there. It would be permanent, but his internal organs and body were completely healed. The doctors were surprised at the speed of the healing, but they put it down to his large amounts of aura. It probably had something to do with Yang though...

He was now resting against a tree, sighing as he watched the sun start to set and the clouds turn slightly pink. He looked up as all his friends walked through the bushes and sat down next to him. "Hey."

"So what's up?" Sun was just finishing a banana and slightly leaned on Blake, who pushed him off forcefully, blushing.

"Hello, everyone. I just want to meet with you all here for a reason." He sat up a bit and sighed. "I… promised Yang and Ruby that I'd tell you about my past with all of you."

Yang and Ruby looked at each other. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I guess you need to know your enemy. Mine." He took a deep breath. "Shall I begin?"

They all nodded, settling down.

"Very well…"


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

* * *

Silver sighed.

It was another day of constant work and combat. He'd still managed to beat everyone who went against him, but he was getting sick and tired of it all. Day after day after day!

Suddenly, someone pulled an arm around his neck and started choking him.

"GAK! GOLD! CAN'T BREATHE!"

Gold, real name Gordon, laughed and pushed him away. He was now fourteen, one year older than Silver, and he had blond hair and gold coloured eyes. Even as young as he was, he was still incredibly strong and buff, with muscles pushing through his skin. Silver was also strong, but their height difference gave them a strong sense of competition.

"Lil Bro. If you don't watch out, someone's gonna get you someday. And I won't always be here to protect you."

"Shut up." Silver stuck his tongue out. "Race ya home!"

"You're on!"

Both boys started sprinting down the walkway.

They were on an enormous rig in the middle of the ocean. Large buildings were connected by segments of bridges and walkways between. Their way home involved a long walk along the outer ring, before taking a left to the centre of the platforms, where they're home was located.

They passed by the occasional patrol of soldiers and also ran by several of their friends, all of who waved as they passed.

When they reached their house, they rushed up the sixteen flights of stairs to the top floor where they burst through the double doors of their house, collapsing into laughter on the floor.

"You two are idiots."

They both looked up to see their sister, Bronze, standing in the living room. She was a year and a half younger than Silver and was now eleven years old. "We're about to be shown into dad's plan today as well…"

"Oh yeah." Gold stood up and pulled up Silver, who didn't look as cheerful. "What's wrong, Silv?"

"It's just… I dunno, I'm not sure I wanna do this."

"What? Stay here and run the operation?"

"Yeah. I don't want to stay here for the rest of my life. It's boring and predictable. I want to go out and see the world, y'know? See what's out there, and who's out there."

Bronze shook her head. "You do realise that if you weren't dad's son you'd probably be thrown into the sea for saying that?"

"Hey, he's your brother, have some respect." Gold glared at her. She just smiled smiled back at him.

* * *

Gold, Silver and Bronze sat at a table in a room. In front of them on the wall was an enormous map of Remnant, and to the side were three lockers. They all were watching their father, a man who went by the name of Titan, short for Titanium. He was an enormous man who was adorned in his armour that made him look very menacing, but beneath it he was a kind man who looked after his kids.

"Well, kids. Today's the day. The council's decided you are old enough to know our plans. But first, it's time you receive your armour."

They all looked at each other. The armour was one of the most advanced pieces of technology in the world. They were known for being able to adjust in size for the wearer, so they could keep it with them for their entire lives, despite height or body changes. They also were state of the art, with every known technological instrument made built into it.

"Open those lockers, and you'll have yours."

They all went to the lockers and opened them. Silver stared at the suit in front of him in awe. His own armour! He would look so cool!

"Well? Put them on." Titan walked up to them and clapped them on the back.

Within five minutes and a bit of struggling with the skin shirt and pants, they were in. Silver had an enormous smile on his face as he posed in front of a mirror, Gold doing the same. "Alright! This is awesome!"

"You both are so immature. I can't believe you're going to be next on the counsel." Bronze shook her head, in her own armour.

"Right. Gather around." Titan made them all sit down at the table. "For years now, we've been living here on this platform. And now…" He gestured to the map. "We're ready to take back what is ours."

Silver looked at Gold, who shrugged. "What do you mean?"

"You see, we used to have our own kingdom on the mainland. However, the kingdom of Atlas took our land from us in a military invasion. They slaughtered thousands of our people, before we had to escape through Vacuo and set up this hideout. And now." He placed his hands on the table. "We strike back."

Titan then told them the plan that he and the counsel had make. Their military, their invasion routes, their laws and curfews, everything. When he finished, he turned to his three children, watching their reaction.

Bronze's eyes were filled with excitement and anticipation. Gold's eyes were curious and unsure. And for Silver…

"Dad? Are… you sure about this?"

He looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… the plan… what about the people there? The soldiers? If we invade, people will die…"

"So?" Bronze looked at him. "Think about it! We'll be powerful! Rich! We'll have our own kingdom at last, not some metal scaffold in the sea!"

Gold sighed. "Silver, you always said you wanted to see places."

"But I don't want to fight to do that!" He protested. "I don't want to… to… kill for that!"

Titan rubbed his head. "Gold, Silver, the council will decide which of you is fit to lead the charge. You all can go now."

All three of them stood up, grabbed their helmets and left. Titan sighed as he turned to the other end of the room. A secret door opened up and several men filed through.

"He's not ready." a man by the name of Iron said.

"But he's got more requirements." A woman by the name of Diamond spoke up. "Gold might be more willing to, but Silver's grades in school and natural leadership and cooperation are what we need in a successful leader to lead the invasion."

Titan pinched his brow. "You do realise they're only kids? They're barely old enough."

"They'll all be adults by the time the invasion begins."

"But there's still the decision on who to pick. How do we know which one is going to lead the allegiance to victory?"

"I might have an idea."

They all turned around. Bronze was at the doorway, a smile on her face.

"Oh? So, Ms. Bronze, what would be your solution?" Iron asked sarcastically.

"It's very simple…" She grinned.

* * *

"What did she do?" Ruby asked, already fearing the worst.

Silver shuddered. "She… well…"

* * *

Silver woke up in darkness. When he sat up from the floor, he realised two things. One, he was in his armour. And two…

He was clutching a gold knife.

Silver dropped the knife and scooted back, just as the lights turned on in a flash, blinding him. As his eyes adjusted, he saw that he was in a small arena with walls on all sides. And on those walls were members of the council.

Gold sat up on the other end of the arena. He was also in his armour, and on the ground next to him was a knife made of silver. "What's going on?"

"The Allegiance of Steel needs a new leader." Iron said from the stands. "And you two are the candidates for this position."

"Then what're the point of these?!" Silver shouted, pointing at the knife.

"That… is how you're going to prove you are capable for the position."

"WHAT?!" Gold roared out. "You can't make us do that! I'm not killing my brother!"

"Neither am I!" Silver kicked the knife away.

"Well then." Iron clicked his fingers. Immediately, soldiers stepped forward and aimed their guns down at them.

These were different. They were robots, and their heads were styled after old warrior's helmets.

* * *

 **Author's note: Their helmet designs resemble those used by Spartan warriors in Ancient Greece, not the Spartan helmets of Halo**.

* * *

"If you don't fight, you'll both die."

Silver looked at Gold, a feeling of dread settling in his stomach. "But…"

Gold reached down and picked up the knife. "Silver…"

"If it's any consolation." Iron sighed. "This wasn't my idea, or your father's. He was outright against it. But we've got no choice. The council's agreed to let it happen."

Silver took a shaky breath. "Well?"

Gold gave him a smile. "Just like training, huh?"

They both tensed, before charging.

* * *

Silver stopped talking. Everyone listening was feeling mixed emotions from shock to fear to anger. How could they do that? To children!

"You don't have to continue…" Yang comforted him, but he shook his head.

"I'll… just tell you what happened after…"

* * *

Bronze walked to the main command control center. She'd been told that Silver would be waiting for her.

It turned out that Silver did indeed have what it took to be a leader. She smiled. It was a great idea to make them fight to the death. The perfect way to test them for their loyalty.

She walked into the control room, the door sliding shut behind her. She looked around. The monitors hummed away, the machines beeping and whirring while they monitored the platforms from temperatures to pressure points.

She spotted him sitting with his back to her at the farthest console. She smiled as she walked up to him, but as she got closer she froze.

Six robots lay on the floor in varying levels of dismemberment and destruction. And he was staring at a single lever in front of him, hands clasped around it. The self destruction sequence.

"What do you think you're doing?" Bronze forced herself to remain calm. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to be damaged to the point where he wouldn't be able to function. She'd have been able to manipulate him. It had worked countless times on others, so why not him?

"..." He didn't reply.

"Does it have something to do with the fight? What am I saying, of course it does." She stepped forward. "You know who suggested the fight? I did. I knew that you two together would be relying on each other too much. A weakness." She took another step. "He was weak. Which is why he died. Because he was WEAK." She took another step forward. "YOU were the one who killed him. By your own hand. You only have yourself to blame. So you are NOT going to blame anyone else. Because he died because of you. YOU KILLED YOUR BROTHER."

She was now right behind him, and was taken by surprise when he suddenly lashed out with a knife made of bronze, slicing across her face. She screamed in pain, blood pouring from the wound, as she glared at him in hatred. "Go ahead. Kill me, it won't bring him back."

"No…" He spoke at last, although his voice was completely devoid of emotion. "It won't. But it will make sure that this doesn't happen to anyone else. Also, just so you know, it was dad who gave me access to this." In a single motion, he slammed the lever down.

Alarms blared. Explosions sounded in the distance. Each and every structure and walkway exploded in a wall of flame, slowly getting closer.

"Goodbye, _sister_. May you burn in hell." He reached behind him and pulled out a weapon from his back holster. A sniper rifle. He turned and shot the observation windows, the glass shattering. He then ran to the edge, pulling out a rocket launcher and blasting himself off.

Bronze stumbled to the edge where she watched him sail through the air before diving deep into the water. She then looked up at the flames roaring towards her. She screamed, and the world went black.

* * *

"... I was picked up by a couple of fishermen who spotted me in the water a day later… I told them I was a huntsman whose ship sank… after that, I ran, and then I trained. I fought Grimm, grew stronger, until five years later, Ozpin found me." Silver's shoulders shook. "That's when I met you…"

Everyone all sat in silence. Yang and Ruby both hugged Silver, who hugged them back, quietly sobbing for a long time. Eventually, he calmed down, and they sat in silence.

"Right. This Bronze A-hole, we're going to definitely kill her!" Sun declared after a while, taking everyone by surprise.

"Yeah!" Nora cheered. "We'll make her pay for what she did to Silver!"

Silver's sobbing had almost completely stopped. He pulled back, wiping his tears from his cheeks. "Sorry, Nora, I called dibs first."

She shrugged. "Fine. But leave her legs for me. I wanna break them."

Silver grinned. "You get her legs, I get her arms."

"Deal!" She grinned, and they all laughed.

"Thanks guys. For listening." Silver took a deep breath. "It's just… it was really hard to keep it in. I just had to get it off my chest. Thank you."

"We're your friends." Jaune walked up and patted him on the back. "We're here for you. All those times you helped us, it also was meant for you."

"You do as you say, man." Neptune grinned. "You do as you say."

"Silver…" Tai walked from the bushes with Ozpin, Professor Port, Glynda and Oobleck, startling all of them. "We heard all of it, and we just want to say you'll have all of our support."

"How long were you there?"

"Long enough to hear the entire story." Glynda sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Silver, I am… so sorry for what you had to go through. But I can promise you that we will bring Bronze to justice."

"Well said!" Oobleck stated, his thermos of coffee in his hand, as always. "Silver, if you wish, you can decide what your course of action will be."

"Huh?"

Port stepped forward. "You can choose to go now, what with your wound already healed, or you can wait a few weeks, let the enemy let their guard down, and train. It is up to you to decide and we will respect your choice, but we will be here to help you if you chose to stay and recover."

Silver thought for a while. "While I'd love to go and start turning over every leaf and stone in Remnant to find her, I think we should plan our next move first."

Ozpin nodded. "It is good that you're thinking this through. We will help you in any way you ask. But don't use that to indulge yourself with other things like food or games."

"Darn." Silver, Yang, Ruby, Jaune, Nora and Sun blurted out, and everyone laughed. Except Ozpin, but he smiled, which was the equivalent.

"Well." Tai clapped his hands. "Dinner's set up, so let's go enjoy some food."

They all got up and headed back to the house. Yang reached up and kissed Silver on the cheek, and he smiled.

They were worth fighting for.

He didn't plan on dying.


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

 **Author's note: I'm sorry for not posting today, but I just got back from a 10 hour drive across three US states, so I never got the chance to work on it.**

 **But we're at 4000+ views! Thank you so much for supporting this story, I feel so happy!**

 **But for obvious reasons, in the future (not now, of course), updates might be more slower than normal. Of course once I arrive back home at the end of my American trip I have around a week or two to type more chapters, but then SCHOOL STARTS (Insert evil music here).**

 **But anyway, without further time wasting, let's get to the next chapter.**

* * *

Silver leapt into the air and spun, swinging his leg for a roundhouse kick. Tai just grabbed his leg and used Silver's momentum to throw him over his shoulder into the ground. Silver rolled out of the way and leapt forwards again, with the two trading blows, hands moving so fast they appeared to be blurs.

Yang sat on the porch watching them spar. She still found herself focusing on Silver's chest, as he had begun doing the sessions without his shirt on. And the scar, although from a tragic event, gave him a more rugged and charming look to him. It just proved how tough he was, and it looked badass.

"Hey Yang."

"Oh, hey Blake."

Blake walked out onto the porch and stood next to her partner, both watching the two men fight. Currently, Tai had Silver in a headlock, who proceeded to grab his arms, jump up and slam him into the ground with his weight. Tai rolled on the ground, clutching his back.

"Owch... That's gotta hurt." Yang winced. Blake nodded with her. "So what brings you here?"

"Well, two things. One, Weiss's sister brought back some reports on the Allegiance of Steel. Apparently they caught a group of soldiers on the Vacuo front and interrogated them."

"Really? That's cool. And what's the second thing?"

"Well…" Blake now looked nervous. "It's about-"

They both jumped back as Silver smashed through the porch fence, groaning. Tai just sauntered over to him, chuckling. "Too slow."

Silver pushed himself up and looked at the damage. "Oh, snap. Sorry Tai, I'll fix this."

"It's fine." He patted him on the back. "Don't worry about it. You did well."

"Wow, dad." Yang walked up to them. "You've been really friendly with Silver lately. Why?"

"Well, there's the whole fact of training. But also the fact that I want to get to know my future son-in-law." He laughed, causing both to blush.

Silver sighed and grabbed his shirt from the porch steps. "Well, I'm hungry. What's for lunch?"

"Ren and Jaune are in the kitchen, I'm guessing steak. I can smell it from here." Blake took Yang by the arm and led her back inside. "I just need to speak to Yang."

The two men watched them leave before turning to each other. "Girls."

"You wouldn't know the half of it." Tai punched him lightly on the shoulder. "I think we have time for a couple of laps around the house."

* * *

"The SDC has had major blows to its dust supply ever since its mines were taken. The question is, why the mines specifically?"

Weiss, Ruby, Neptune and Pyrrha were all spread out in Weiss's room. Weiss herself was on her computer, with Pyrrha and Ruby researching books and Neptune on his scroll.

"There's the obvious answer. To stop us getting Bronze. After all, it's her weakness." Neptune was looking at his own scroll.

"But we're the only ones who know about it." Ruby pointed out. "She'd stopped the speakers when she told us that."

"There's also another probable reason…" Neptune looked up. "What if she's trying to find silver metal to kill him with? After all, if they get enough, they could make silver bullets and silver fragment explosives."

They all went silent. Their decision to stay was a double-edged sword. They could recover and prepare, but so could their enemies.

"At least Bronze is basically out of action." Pyrrha put down her book. "That punch to her arm without aura probably shattered her entire bone. And a broken arm is never as strong as before. In fact, she could probably lose it."

"How's the fire-resistance research going?" Ruby looked at her.

"That's… more difficult. Aura does stop the flames themselves from contact, but the heat does blister the skin. And if you remember, Silver's burn on his arm severely hindered him from fighting perfectly. Not to mention it severely drains aura with a direct blast."

They all fell silent as they continued their research. "So we know that the Allegiance use robots like Atlas. This should be simple."

"Well." Neptune leaned back on the floor. "Atlas and Steel are basically at a standstill, and Vacuo destroys any robot that goes near their lines. It's amazing how they've managed to hold on to their lands." He held up his scroll. There was live footage from the Vacuo lines. They'd dug down into a network of trenches and tunnels that stretched across the whole border. Artillery pounded the Steel robots as they marched across the plains. Any one that made it past that were gunned down by riflemen and machine-gunners in the trenches. "Say whatever about Vacuo, but they are some tough nuts."

"So what's the plan?" Ruby sat up from the bed. "We have to find bronze to make into weapons and ammo, then find Bronze herself and kill her. But then what? I don't think they'll just surrender after that."

"They'll be without a leader." Weiss kept looking through the computer. "Their lack of leadership will cause confusion. That's when Atlas and the other kingdoms will attack, and will take back what is rightfully theirs."

Neptune grinned. "Touche, General Ice Queen."

For some reason, that annoying nickname didn't sound so bad coming from him.

* * *

Tai and Silver jogged around the house, waiting for dinner.

"So… wanna talk?"

Tai smiled. "Never thought you'd ask. What do you want to talk about?"

Silver sighed. "Well… I'm thinking about when we should go."

Tai nodded. "I know, but we're still not ready. Ozpin and Qrow will return with information from their informants in the other kingdoms, and we've still got to train. We'll be running in blind if we go now."

He nodded. "I know. But for how long? We don't know if we'll be here for a week, a month, or even a whole year before we're ready!"

Tai slowed down, and Silver did the same. "Look, as much as I want to head to the front and start punching every goddamn steel bastard on Remnant, there's nothing we can do until we find out where we have to go." He put a hand on his shoulder. "You just have to be patient."

He sighed. "Yeah, but there are people who are dying while we're here."

"And that's the worst part about war. When you have to train while others are dying. Lives that you might or might not be able to prevent from being lost. But trust me, this is the right course of action. We'll be saving many more in the future."

They remained silent as they pulled up at the front door. Tai slapped him on the back, hard. "C'mon, let's go inside, I'm starved."

Silver watched him walk inside. He still felt guilty, but he sighed. Tai was right. Until they had a set objective and were prepared they weren't going anywhere. He would have to focus on trying to get stronger.

But for now, it was time for dinner. And Jaune's steak was something to die for. He was a surprisingly good cook, but having seven sisters did that to a guy.

* * *

After dinner, they all had their breakdown of the day, with what they had discovered, learned and done, as well as plans for the next day.

As they all headed to their rooms, Blake felt a hand on her shoulder. "Blake, wait up."

She turned to see Sun standing there. "Oh. Hi, Sun."

He scratched the back of his head, something that it seemed everyone did when they were nervous. "Yo. So, uh. You've been kinda avoiding me for the past few days. Why's that?"

Blake was nervous. "N-no reason."

"Alright, I'm gonna stop you there. I've known you well enough to know that something is wrong when you're one, stuttering, and two, not answering my question. Now the second one it's quite normal, it's kinda your "thing", but when you stutter - which you never do, I'll be the one to point out - that's when I have to worry. So spit it out."

Blake had never seen the monkey faunus so serious before. He was always just… _monkeying_ _about_ , as Yang put it.

She sighed. "I… I can't really explain… I don't know how to put it. I'll tell you when I can, alright?"

"... If ya say so." He shrugged and went to his room. "Just let me know when, ok? Goodnight."

Yang and Silver watched her walk past them, both shaking their heads. "Really? Is it so hard to say you love him."

"I-I, um, WHAT?!" She immediately blushed. "No! Sh-shut up! Goodnight!"

They both laughed as they went to Silver's room. They sat on the bed and talked about stuff, from what they did that day to their pasts to their future plans. He was brushing her hair again, something that was becoming more regular.

"Hey, Yang?"

"Mhmm?"

"What are you gonna do… after all of this?"

She remained silent for a minute. "I was always a thrill seeker, but to be honest, this is a bit much. I've actually been thinking of settling down after this, y'know? I think this whole war, when we end it, will be enough adventure for a lifetime."

He smiled. "Yeah. That's what I want after this. What I've always wanted. A quiet, peaceful life, where I won't have to worry about anything."

"You heard, right? Apparently, the Grimm are almost nowhere to be found lately."

"How?"

"No one knows. It's like... they've been avoiding humanity. Since the beginning of the war, they've been taking advantage, but so many have died that they've pulled back." She sighed. "I can't believe it's gotten to the point where the creatures of death are avoiding us... Things are so messed up..."

"Well, there still are Grimm out there to kill. They'll never be truly gone."

"That's nice." She replied sarcastically. He chuckled.

"But once this war is over, they'll come back. And Ruby and the others will still get to be huntsmen and huntresses, fighting for the protection of the people."

"... Maybe…"

"Besides." He leaned forward slightly. "If you want to settle down, I think the lack of Grimm will certainly help." He then bit her neck lightly while grabbing her chest from behind.

She gasped slightly from the contact. "I-is the door closed?"

He chuckled. "Yup. I made sure this time."

"Well then." She turned around and they kissed, both of them falling on the bed.

* * *

 **Some of you may be wondering why I'm taking out the Grimm. After all, they're what makes the RWBY universe special. But to be honest, the Grimm will probably get in the way of the story. This is all human (and faunus) action. No creatures of death and darkness (although they might turn up in future chapters. They're not completely gone, just... not there right now).**

 **Until next time, peace out!**


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Three weeks had now passed since Bronze's attack, and Qrow had returned from his mission to the Alliance's territories. He'd somehow managed to avoid being captured, though his cape did have noticeable bullet holes in it.

When he arrived, Silver was sparring with Ruby, Yang, Jaune, and Sun. The reasoning was that if he could take them all down, he stood a good chance on a single target.

He had been engaging in a hand-to-hand duel against both Sun and Yang. He blocked her punches before ducking as Sun launched a flying kick. Just as Tai had taught him, he grabbed his leg and flung him to the ground. Sun groaned from the ground as Silver jumped back and blocked Yang's punches. He then proceeded to duck then tackle her to the ground, flipping over her and getting her neck in a headlock. She thumped her hand on the ground to submit.

He smiled and pulled her up. "I've gotten better."

"Perhaps." Ren walked up to them, stopwatch in hand. "By two point seven seconds. A small improvement, but an improvement nonetheless."

"You always spoil everything." He grumbled, before spotting Qrow walking up the hill. "Qrow! He's back!"

He waved. "Hey, kid. How's the training going?"

Before Silver could reply, Ruby suddenly shot by with a trial of rose petals and hung of Qrow's arm. "UNCLE QROW! Oh, I'm so glad you're back! Are you ok? How was the trip? What did you see? Did ya miss me? Did ya?!"

"Nope." He replied, dropping her down on the ground. "You still act like a kid, even after all of this."

She smiled. "Well, I don't know, do I?"

"Yup." Silver grabbed her in a tight hug from behind. "You're adorable, you know that?"

"SILVER! CAN'T! BREATHE!" Silver dropped her while everyone laughed. "Yang! I'm blaming you for teaching him that!"

She shrugged. "Well, sorry for being such a bad influence."

Silver stepped forward to Qrow. "Welcome back. Drink?"

"You know what I like." He grinned, shaking his flask. It had a bullet hole on the bottom. "You have no idea how these last few days have been."

"What, being sober? That's how everyone else lives, man. Welcome to the world of not being slowly poisoned to death."

"Ha ha. Seriously, I need a drink." He pushed his way past them, marching to the door. "Come in when I'm ready."

"How would we know?"

"When I'm stone cold dead to the world."

He shook his head and turned to Yang. "So he's my uncle-in-law?"

"Yep." She replied, laughing. "Don't worry, he's not THAT much of a bad influence."

"What do you mean? He's not your uncle." Ruby looked up at him. Silver and Yang turned to each other and laughed. Nearby, Sun, Ren and Blake shook their heads. "What's so funny?"

"Ruby, your innocence is unbelievable. Look." He crouched down and put an arm around her. "When a couple get together and love each other, what do they do?"

"Well, they go out, they kiss, they go on dates, and if they like each other a lot, they get married!" She replied, surprising all of them.

"That's spot on. And what are me and Yang doing?"

"Well, you're dating! And that means… means…" She slowly stopped talking and her eyes widened. "Wait…"

Blake and Ren were watching. Blake handed Ren a handful of lien, who smiled and pocketed it. "Told you they'd have to tell her."

"Yang and I love each other very much, and just as you said... You are looking at your future brother-in-law! What do you think?" Silver grinned.

"I…" Ruby didn't know how to react. So she did something unexpected and uncharacteristic.

She fainted.

Silver caught her. "Ruby?" He sighed, before picking her up, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. "Yang, are you telling me she never knew until today?"

Yang shrugged. "Sometimes, she surprises even me."

Blake held out her hand, smiling. "Told you she'd react that way." He reluctantly gave her back her lien, muttering under his breath. Sun laughed.

"Well, let's go see what Qrow has to say." They all headed inside.

* * *

Once Ruby woke up (courtesy to a cup of ice water from Weiss), they all gathered around the living room. Qrow was already halfway through his fourth cup of whisky.

"I'll be brief. They're just like Atlas at war." He took a drink. "Their robots patrol the streets. They have a very strict curfew. Anyone caught outside of 11 o'clock is imprisoned for the night. Everyone must carry identification papers. But otherwise, it's peaceful. Everyone goes around their regular business, and the lack of Grimm helps. But there's a negative feeling always around, like they're oppressed. Grimm attacks have all but ceased, though, and when it began they were non-stop. They're well armed, with armoured vehicles, mechs, you name it."

"Paladins?" Weiss leaned in.

"Well, their own versions, which are slower but more heavily armed. For speed, they have armoured cars with machine gun turrets. Some even have rocket launchers attached. They aren't just some mercenary force, we're talking about a real army here."

"Troop placements?"

"In the center of every settlement in their territory. The robots don't have their own place to stay, so they just walk around, patrolling the settlements and streets. The human soldiers all stay at their base, and are the ones who manage the vehicles. Most settlements have at least three of their mechs patrolling the borders and entries to the towns, so sneaking in is a no. You just have to walk in."

"How'd you avoid being shot?" Ruby asked.

"Simple." He took out a small booklet from his pocket and slapped it on the table. It was an identification paper. Qrow's face was on it along with all of his information.

"Unemployed? Oh, and I love how they added Alcoholic to the description." Neptune grinned, reading it over. Qrow choked and grabbed it back, reading it again before dropping it on the table, a dark aura surrounding him.

"Right. Let's get these bastards." It had obviously struck a nerve, and a vein bulged on his forehead. "I know what they're hiding. They're specifically trying to stop us from getting our hands on certain… items that could lead to Bronze's assassination."

"What?" Everyone leaned in.

"In Vacuo, they've taken a very famous blacksmith, man by the name of Herman Vulcan. He specialises in metals, and I'm guessing he had bronze metal to work with. If we can get him out of there, he can make our weapons bronze compatible. Problem is, he's right in the middle of captured Vacuo territory, guarded by hundreds of robots and dozens of the Steel army's best soldiers and mechs, making their own weapons for them. He's located in a base in one of the main Steel army compounds in the desert next to a large trading town called Oasis. It's the third largest settlement in the country, so it should be easy to blend in.

"Then there's Atlas. Currently, the capital's in captured territory, although access between the two kingdoms is still fine. Both Atlas and Steel robots patrol the streets, with the city divided in two. If we can get to the SDC, we can find the mines with the most recorded amount of bronze metal. Problem is, the building with the archives, the Business and Management Center, is in the middle of Steel territory, guarded by plenty of soldiers and robots."

"Well, my family owns SDC, so it shouldn't be a problem getting in." Weiss protested.

Qrow shook his head. "You're a huntress, which is bad. And as of the invasion weeks ago, you and your sister Winter have been declared as barred from entry. I met with your brother, actually, and his father's planning to hand over the entire company to him because of this."

"What?!" Weiss was in shock. "But… he can't!"

"Well, he did. He only sees this as an opportunity to make the big bucks, and seemingly get rid of you in the process. If it's any consolation, your brother told me to say he'll help you whenever he can in the future."

"That's so like him." She sighed.

"The way I see it." Qrow downed his glass. "We need three teams. One to find Herman Vulcan, one to find the archives in Atlas, and one to go to the mine and retrieve the bronze once we've found it. Then, he makes our new weapons and we find Bronze and kill her."

"We'll have to decide properly. How about this." Jaune stood up. "We need Weiss to go to Atlas and access the SDC, so she's going there. I don't think the two groups going to Vacuo and Atlas should be in the same team. So Weiss should go to the SDC and Sun should lead us in Vacuo with different members."

"Right." Sun sat up. "How do the teams work?"

"How about…" Jaune started pointing. "Yang, Silver and Blake should go to Vacuo with Sun, since we need muscle in there. Weiss, you take Neptune, Ruby and Qrow. I'll be with Pyrrha, Ren and Nora, ready to go when we find the location of the bronze."

"Sounds like a plan." Silver nodded. "So when do we leave?"

"Well, for your team, tonight." Qrow stood up. "There's an express train leaving from Vale city station tomorrow morning. If you take the night airship, you'll be in the city by dawn. Ozpin arranged for accommodations at Shade academy. For Weiss's team, Ozpin can get you a ticket on a plane to Atlas tomorrow."

"So we gotta pack." Yang clapped her hands. "Ok, let's get rolling."

They all got up and headed to their rooms.

* * *

"Are you going to be ok?"

Silver hugged Ruby again. They were all standing at the docks, seeing Sun, Blake, Yang and Silver off. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"It was great having you around." Tai shook Silver's hand. "Look after my daughter for me, alright?"

Before he could reply, a ship's officer approached them. "Excuse me, but I'm going to need to see your tickets and passports."

They handed them theirs, but when the officer got to Silver's he paused. "Sir, there's no photo on this. And there's information missing, such as age, race, and others."

"Ah… I've never actually needed to use it before. I've always walked to where I've needed to go."

"You're going to need to come over with us to get a photo taken and to fill in the rest."

"Ok." He turned back to them. "I guess this is goodbye, then."

After a few more hugs and promises to keep in contact, Sun, Blake, Silver and Yang all left to the airship. But at the last second Ruby reached up and grabbed Yang. She whispered into her ear. "Can you tell us what Silver looks like since he's getting his photo taken?"

Yang grinned. "Don't worry, sis. Leave it to me!" She gave her one last bone-crushing hug (Ruby nearly passed out from suffocation) and boarded the airship.

* * *

As the ship disappeared into the darkness, Pyrrha sighed. "So what now?"

"Well." Ren crossed his arms. "We've got to train for when we have to go. Most likely, we'll be fighting against well-armed soldiers and robots."

Tai came over and clamped his hands on the shoulders of Ren and Jaune. "Don't worry, I'll be training you all. I'm just gonna warn you, I'm not going to be merciful when it comes to training."

"You're joking, right?"

Tai grinned, although there was a hint of dark enjoyment behind it. "Oh, I'm _deadly_ serious."

"Dad, stop being scary." Tai laughed as Ruby protested.

Ren and Jaune looked at each other nervously. Nora, oblivious, just punched the air. "Yeah! We'll be the strongest team of all time!"

"Nora, this isn't a competition." Pyrrha sighed. "C'mon, guys."

Weiss clapped her hands. "Yes, we've got a busy day tomorrow, so let's get to bed."

* * *

 **Just a note, when the guys leave, they will be wearing similar clothes to that of Volume 4 of RWBY. Blake will not be wearing a bow, Jaune will have better armour, etc. Also, Silver is wearing his casual clothes, the ones Coco got him. They'll appear again in the future, don't worry.**

 **Thank you so much for all the support you guys have shown me. But unfortunately, in a few days updates might slow down. Writer's block, as well as my road trip have been making things hard, but in a few weeks I'll be getting back on schedule. Until next time, peace out!**


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

 **Author's note: So I messed up. I assumed that SUN and NEPTUNE came from SHADE ACADEMY, not HAVEN, as how it is in the original RWBY series. So apologies for this... I kinda assumed that they were from Shade.**

 **So please, just bare with me for this. In this story, Sun and Neptune are from Vacuo, and grew up around Shade academy with the huntsmen and huntresses, which influenced their decisions for their future. They were then accepted to Haven academy instead of Shade. I hope this doesn't change the story too much. Thank you for your understanding.**

 **If there are any other plot holes or mistakes, please leave a review explaining it to me, and I'll try to solve it, or try to compensate for it. Once again, thank you, and enjoy!**

* * *

When Silver and the others arrived at the immigration office inside the ship, he was told he'd have to remove his helmet. He was deeply troubled by this.

"I'm sorry, sir, but if you don't remove it I just simply can't give you your passport and identification papers." The man behind the desk repeated.

"Will I be able to put it back on afterwards?"

"About that…" He looked a bit nervous. "If what you're saying is true about your train ride, you'll be going through Steel territory and then to Vacuo, and they both don't allow people to cover their faces there. So I'm afraid you're going to have to take off that helmet and keep it off."

Yang, Sun and Blake were listening in. They would be lying if they denied being curious to what he looked like.

Finally, Silver gave in. "Alright. In the photo room then."

The man grinned, relieved. "Absolutely. It'll take no more than a few minutes."

They disappeared behind a room, leaving Yang, Blake and Sun to themselves.

"Why's he so secretive about what he looks like?" Sun leaned back on his chair while he balanced a pencil from the table on the end of his tail. "He hardly looks bad, and his body more than makes up for it."

"Maybe it's something else." Blake snatched the pencil away and put it back. "Maybe an injury he received in the past, or a mark."

"Like Weiss?" Yang leaned back, hands behind her head. "I dunno. But the officer did mention that he had info missing, including… nah. It can't be true."

"What can't be true?" Sun looked at her, now balancing a pen on the end of his tail. Blake sighed and grabbed that as well.

"Maybe, just like Blake, he-" Before she could continue, the door opened, and the officer came out.

"Alright, this should only take a few minutes. I'm quite surprised by your friend actually, but I understand why he did it." He entered his office and shut the door.

"Did what?" Blake sat up. At that moment Silver walked out.

The first thing they noticed was that his helmet was off, tucked under his arm. The next was his face. He had a well built face, set eyes and short, messy hair that somehow didn't seem to be affected by the helmet. His hair was a silver-grey, and his eyes were silver as well, and he could be described as quite handsome. But what really got their attention were the two white canine ears on the top of his head.

"You're… a faunus…" Yang was completely caught off guard.

He scratched the back of his head, and his ears drooped a little. "Yeah. I'm sorry for not telling you all."

"Umm, what kind are you…?" Blake was still staring at the ears.

"Well, I'm a wolf faunus. Snow wolf, to be exact."

"No way!" Sun leapt up. "Dude! Being a wolf is rare enough, but a SNOW WOLF?! The youngest one's, like, ninety-something, on Menagerie! Tell me, are you related to any of the greats?"

"Well…" He laughed softly. "I don't know. Apparently, I just happened to be born as a faunus from my parents. Two humans can have a faunus kid, if past parents were."

Yang stared at him. "But wouldn't you have been treated differently when you grew up?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, but when I grew up, it didn't really matter what race you were. I think I was the only faunus kid there, and I think that's what make me quite popular. I never actually knew about the faunus' struggles until I ran away to the mainland. But now that you mention it, I remember Bronze would sometimes call me a _rotten mutt_ or a _flea-ridden mongrel_. I just thought they were normal from all the bad names she called me, but my family would be extremely hostile when she specifically used those words."

Now Blake and Sun were angry. "It's bad enough she's an evil general of a powerful army, but on top of that she's a racist?!" Sun exclaimed. "Right. This just got personal."

Blake nodded, before turning to Silver. "But you seriously never mentioned this to us?"

He shrugged helplessly. "Ok, look, in all honesty, I forgot, alright? It was hard enough to be how I was, but as a faunus on top of that? I just kinda stopped thinking about it when I first ran away, that fact didn't help at all."

The officer walked in from his office. "Ok, everything's in order. You enjoy the rest of the flight."

They all left the office after thanking him, before heading to a private room. The airship had many closed rooms for groups, and they found an empty one. They all dropped their luggage on the seats and sat down, Silver on the floor in front of Yang. "Again, I'm really sorry for not mentioning it."

"It's ok. I understand perfectly." Blake smiled.

Yang reached out to his ears. "Can I feel them?"

"Well, um, sure?"

Yang reached out and touched them. The fur was so soft and silky, and his ears twitched slightly from the contact. She grinned as she started scratching them. Silver immediately tensed, before sighing in pleasure. Blake and Sun both laughed out loud.

"Yup. The great snow wolf Silver is now getting an ear scratching from Yang Xiao Long." Sun leaned back in his seat.

Yang grinned and kept playing with his ears. "I dunno, I think they're cute. Besides, Blake wouldn't let me touch her ears."

"Speaking of which, Blake, can I feel yours?" Sun turned to Blake.

She slapped him across the face.

* * *

The airship landed in the early hours of the morning, and the group of four arrived at the station. After a long wait, they finally reached the platform for the train to Vacuo.

Yang was still playing with Silver's ears, and he was enjoying it, but Sun and Blake were noticing that they were getting looks of disapproval from some people, while others were accepting. But those who didn't accept them were getting on their nerves.

One old man shook his head at them, tutting. Silver heard this and turned to glare at the man, who just looked back. Yang also glared at him, and after a few seconds the man's will gave way to their glares and he walked away.

Silver sighed. "It's so annoying, isn't it?" He complained loudly. "I can't even love someone without being judged for it."

"Tell me about it. You just wear a hat and nobody gives a second glance." Yang replied.

Silver was approached by several faunus and humans. "Excuse me, are you a snow wolf?"

He nodded. "That's right."

"Oh my god!" They were all excited and started talking to him. Silver smiled, stood up and conversed with them. Yang walked over to Sun and Blake and sat down on the bench with them.

"So what's the story behind the snow wolfs?" she asked.

"Well, it's quite a story." Sun began. "Long ago, before the great war, there were actually many snow wolfs. They all lived together in one large settlement, and they never lived separate from another. They were regarded as some of the best fighters in the world of Remnant, but they were honourable. You couldn't just hire them like a mercenary army, they fought for what was right. During a battle in the great war, almost the entire snow wolf species was fighting against the armies of Mistral and Mantle. Suddenly, thousands if not millions of Grimm appeared from a volcano next to the plains they were fighting in, drawn by the battle. General of the snow wolves, he gives the order to attack, and tells the Mistral and Mantle forces to retreat to the nearest stronghold while they hold them off."

Blake took over. "Almost the entire snow wolf army was wiped out, including the general. Thanks to them, the Grimm were held back and the two armies of Mantle and Mistral were able to regroup and attack to save the rest of the Snow wolfs. The number of Snow wolf survivors numbered only in the dozens.

"All of the survivors were given full pardons after the war, but they almost all disappeared after that. Their village was entirely abandoned. No one knows if they all are dead or if they're secretly living separate from the rest of civilisation in their own settlement. There are even rumours that they are hiding on Menagerie, on the unoccupied parts of the island."

Yang nodded, taking it in. "Wow. They must have been badass."

"Yeah." Sun answered. "Apparently, the average height for the wolfs was six foot eight, and they all had to train to become warriors from the moment they were born. And also, they're where the silver-eyed warriors rumour come from."

"Really?"

"Yeah. All snow wolf faunus had them, it was kinda their special trait. Humans and faunus with the same eyes were said to have their fighting spirit, honour and dedication to protecting people and fighting evil. That was what also fuelled the rumours."

Yang nodded again. "Wow…"

At that moment, the train blew its whistle. "ALL ABOARD!"

Silver waved goodbye to the faunus and human group and walked back towards them. "Shall we?"

They all grabbed their luggage and boarded, finding their room. Since it was an express train, the sleeping compartments had two bunk beds each, with a large window for them to look out of. Yang and Sun quickly bagged the top bunks. Blake and Silver shook their heads and set down on the bottom ones.

There was a shower and toilet in one side of the entrance, and a wardrobe in the other. There were several compartments in the carriage, with the front of it having a small passenger area with tables and seats. After dropping off their bags in the room, they all headed to the seats. Blake sat with her book, Sun ate a banana (no idea where he got those) and Silver was content to lean on Yang as she massaged his ears, eyes closed.

"So, we've got a lot of time to kill. We'll be arriving tomorrow afternoon." Sun spoke as the train started moving. "So we should come up with a plan."

"Y'know, I kinda want to relax for a bit." Yang replied. "I mean, we've been training every day since the… incident. Today's the day where we can sit down and completely do nothing."

"Yang?" Blake set her book down slowly, staring at her friend. "Do nothing? You? Yang, what happened to you? A couple weeks ago, you would have tried to find a way to get to the train and drive it yourself."

She smiled, before gesturing to Silver. "You're looking at him. But don't worry, for tomorrow morning I'm planning to visit the driver and see if I can blow the whistle."

"Well, if that's what being a couple is like, I'm all for it!" Sun declared. Blake blushed a bit and pulled her book up.

"Why don't you?" Yang grinned. "I mean, you and Blake? You went to the dance together."

Now Sun's face turned a bit red, and Blake sank a little lower in her seat, her ears flattening. "Well, I mean, it wasn't really… an official thing."

"So? Make it official!" Yang shrugged. "Blake really digs you, she won't stop talking about you ALL the time."

"YANG!" Blake exclaimed, shocked. Sun now looked at her.

"You do?"

"S-Sun, I, um… I hate you SO MUCH Yang!" Blake now hid her face behind her hands.

"Ok, this is SO not like you, Blake." Silver noted. "So Sun, what's up?"

He seemed lost. "Well, I'll say one thing. I might live to be a hundred and twenty, and I'll never understand the female sex."

"You and me both. Too confusing." He nodded. Yang and Blake smacked them both across the head.

* * *

"Hey Yang! How's the trip?"

Ruby waved from the Scroll screen. Weiss, Qrow, Tai, Jaune and Pyrrha were also leaning over her. Yang grinned. "Hey sis. Hey dad."

"How was the journey? You made it safely?" Pyrrha asked.

"It was fine, we're currently on the train, about to head for lunch."

"So, Yang." Ruby lowered her voice. "Silver?"

"Right here." He popped out from behind her, ears out for them to see. Their eyes all widened.

"You're a faunus?!" She exclaimed. "And you've got silver eyes!"

"Yeah." He scratched the back of his head. "Sorry for not telling you all, but I couldn't find a good reason to."

"Dude!" Jaune was starstruck. "You're a Snow wolf! That's so cool!"

"Well." Qrow whistled. "Seems like the myths were true then."

"Yup." Yang grinned. "So what's up?"

"We're just about to leave. Your father managed to get us tickets on a flight to Atlas. We're about to walk to the airship. We wanted to check up on your progress." Weiss replied, although her eyes were still on Silver's wolf ears.

"We're doing fine, just about to get some grub."

Tai leaned in. "Do you have a plan when you arrive? I can come there as well…"

"Dad, we've got this, we don't need a chaperone."

"If you say so. Just stay safe. Talk to the head of Shade academy, he'll help you with the accommodations as well as equipment. He sent me a message, your gear will be waiting for you there."

"Thanks dad. I love you!"

"You too, sweetheart."

"Don't forget about me! Bye, Yang! Bye, Silver!" Ruby waved goodbye. The screen cut out.

Silver smiled and hugged Yang from behind. "They're great, y'know."

"Yup." She smiled, turning around and pressing her lips on his. They both shared a long kiss before they pulled apart.

"C'mon. Blake and Sun are waiting." He pulled her up off the floor and they headed to the restaurant car.

* * *

 **So. Silver's a Faunus. A snow wolf, to be exact.**

 **I always loved snow wolfs. To me, they are majestic AF. They are so loyal to their pack, and will come to their pack's aid and protect those who can't protect themselves. They know when to just hide in the snow and when to go on the offensive. They look beautiful when calm and look dangerous when hostile. And they are incredibly skilled in fighting, both alone and with a pack.**

 **Leave a review if you like this idea, if you don't, tell me. I appreciate all feedback. Thank you so much for all of your support and until next time, peace out!**


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

The plane soared over the clouds on its trip to Atlas. Weiss, Ruby, Neptune and Qrow were all seated, watching the clouds sail by.

"So how is Atlas like?" Neptune leaned over the seat to talk with Ruby and Weiss.

"Well, it's incredibly modern, and consists of highrise buildings and skyscrapers. Grimm are exceptionally rare there due to the temperatures, so it's citizens could spend their time modernizing to their heart's content, hence their advanced technologies."

"How high are we talking about?"

"Well, eighty stories is the average, although some can be higher than a hundred floors."

"That's… quite high."

"Don't tell me you're afraid of heights too."

"That's not true, I'm fine when it comes to heights. Wait, what do you mean by _too_?"

Ruby and Weiss looked at each other. They weren't supposed to know that he was afraid of water. After all, Sun had said that to Blake as a secret, who revealed it during the festival. Not that it was obvious during the match, but still…

"Nothing. But once we arrive at Atlas then we might have trouble getting to the archives. I'll have to see if… father can get me in."

"Do you have any beef with your dad?" Qrow asked from behind.

She remained silent for a moment. "Yes. Let's just leave it at that."

"He didn't want you to go train as a huntress. Am I right?"

She nodded. "After Winter joined the military, I was next in line to take over the company. But I wanted to be a huntress, something that he didn't like at all."

"Why not let your brother do it?" Ruby asked. "From what you told me about him, he sounds more than wanting to lead it."

"Ruby…" Qrow sighed. "He's around your age. And leading a company like the SDC is very straining on a person, what with the faunus protests and all the rumours of the company circling around. You don't get to that level of power without some dark and... illegal work behind the scenes."

"Oh…" She fell silent.

"It's fine." Weiss shrugged. "I'll just see if I can get the location from my friends."

"Friends?"

"Hey, I actually do have friends other than you dorks."

"I didn't mean it like that!"

Neptune sighed as he leaned back in his seat. "Hey, Qrow? Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Isn't bringing alcohol in a plane illegal?"

He looked at him, before staring at the flask in his hand. Then he shrugged and winked at him. "Nothing they don't know can't hurt them."

"I can see where Yang and Ruby got their way of thinking."

"What was that?" Ruby poked her head over the seat.

"Nothing!" Neptune shook his head. Qrow laughed.

* * *

When the plane finally landed and they disembarked, the first thing they noticed was the temperature.

It was COLD. Snow banked up on the edges of the roads which had been cleared, while an icy wind blew by, piercing through what little clothes they had.

"I just remembered what I forgot to bring with me. A god damn coat…" Qrow muttered as they quickly rushed through the snow from the plane to the airport terminal. Neptune wasn't holding up well either, his clothes made for light temperatures at best, having come from Haven academy. Ruby just wrapped her cape and hood around herself, and Weiss was now sporting a coat from god-knows-where.

The airport was busy as ever, but there was a noticeable increased number of soldiers patrolling through the hallways, all Atlas.

As they got their luggage and moved to the arrival's hall, a man waved to Weiss. "Ms. Schnee!"

He was a tall yet thin man with short hair. He looked to be around fifty years old, his black hair already having hints of grey, and he wore the uniform of a chauffeur. Weiss smiled and they shared a brief hug. "Edward, it's good to see you again."

He laughed. "It's wonderful to see you again as well. Our ride is waiting."

They introduced each other while they made their way to the car outside. Edward did have two jackets for Qrow and Neptune, who accepted them gladly.

"Things are rather heated at the moment." Edward explained as the car pulled onto the freeway. "The Allegiance of Steel's borders extend right to the capital, so half of the city is basically Steel territory, hence the soldiers everywhere. The only reason why there is no fighting unlike on the rest of the border is because of the civilian population here."

Ruby and Neptune were looking through the windows at the enormous skyscrapers towering above them. "And I thought Beacon tower was tall."

"Well, Atlas hasn't had a Grimm attack in a very long time, so they're clear to do whatever they want." Qrow shrugged.

They had to stop as a trio of Paladins passed by. All three were the advanced model from the Vytal festival Silver had fought. In the distance from outside the city, gunfire and explosions could be heard as the two militaries crashed, and smoke billowed on the horizon beyond the city outskirts. Several fighters flew low over the highway before breaking off and heading to said smoke. Dozens of Atlesian battleships floated in the distance, and they watched as one suddenly burst into flames, trailing smoke as it slowly and silently fell to the ground, a billow of black smoke erupting from the carcass.

"So that is war..." Neptune shook his head. Ruby, Weiss and Qrow all looked at each other. "Never thought I'd see the day."

* * *

They finally arrived at the hotel which they were staying at. As they checked in, they heard a voice.

"Weiss!"

They turned to see a boy of Ruby's age walking towards them. He had white hair like Weiss and was wearing a short-sleeved white dress shirt, the sleeves fastened just above his elbows by navy blue cuffs, each with twin gold buttons. Over his untucked shirt he was wearing a light blue vest, with a black handkerchief in his right breast pocket. He was also wearing a black necktie, navy blue trousers and black dress shoes. He also had the same white hair and light blue eyes as Weiss.

"Whitely." They both looked each other, before hugging briefly. "How is father?"

"He's… worse than before." Whitely admitted, looking down a bit. "He's in a constant mood, and he even lashes out at me over normally small issues. He's been exceptionally cruel when it comes to you lately, and has been trying to get the Atlas military to take back the mines through Winter…"

"I thought you were the new heir to the company?" She crossed her arms. "Isn't this, like, your dream come true?"

"It's… now more complicated. I, in all honestly, don't think I'm cut out for this work…" He sighed. "Nothing's the same anymore. Father's shown me the work he has to do, and it's… brutal." He actually shuddered. "I saw a report from a faunus mine. He sent in a security force and threatened their families to get them to work… after a mine collapsed and killed six of the miners. All they were demanding for was better equipment. He authorised it himself. I didn't think that was how it would be… to have power."

"Of course not." Weiss shook her head, sighing. "The world isn't all rainbows and roses, Whitely. A company as large as the SDC doesn't get to it's place without some dark work behind the scenes. You have to be ruthless, and that's not something anyone can easily do. He's not here, is he?"

"No, he's left the capital. He's trying to meet with General Ironwood. Father's trying to get back the mines he's lost. That's why I'm here, I managed to sneak out." He cleared his throat. "I would like to apologize for my behavior and attitude before you left. I was… antagonistic to your choice of lifestyle."

"That is a bit of an understatement. But… I forgive you." She smiled softly. "So do you have what we need?"

"Room at the top, luxury suite, just like you ordered. And all your equipment arrived. It was quite difficult, but we managed to sneak it inside."

"Thank you. Let's go, shall we?" They all headed to the lift.

* * *

Neptune was sprawled out on his bed and Ruby was looking out of the window at the skyline and the distant battle with Whitely, while Qrow was rummaging through the mini bar. He whistled as he pulled out a small bottle and looked at it.

" _Atlesian Frozen Sunrise_ … sixteen years old... now THIS I can respect about Atlas. Great alcohol." He uncapped it and drunk straight from the bottle, head tilted back.

Whitely leaned in to Ruby. "Does he always drink so much? He _reeks_ of alcohol."

"That's what makes uncle Qrow himself. You get used to the smell as well." Ruby shrugged. "It's nice to meet you, by the way. I'm Ruby Rose. He's Qrow, and the cool guy's Neptune."

"Whitely Schnee. Weiss never mentioned you." He shook her hand. "But then again, she never called once after she left. I wouldn't blame her, though."

"Why?"

"Well… I will admit, before she left she was supposed to be the heiress to the company, and it was a bit of a sore spot for me, so I… lashed out at her for choosing to be a huntress. And I had a very… derogatory idea of huntsmen in general, to say the least. I took my father's side then, but now…" He sighed. "I don't think she's really forgiven me for what I said then..."

"It's ok. Weiss will forgive you."

He looked at her. "You really think so?"

"Just give it time. She'll open up to you, you _ARE_ her brother after all."

Weiss walked in from the next room. "Right, our weapons are there, so you can pick them up. Whitely, do you have the information I requested?"

"Yes." He stood up a bit straighter. "All the information on the location of the archives."

"Great. Spit it out, then."

"They're located on the ninety-seventh floor of the Business and Management Center. That is located in Steel territory, however, but I can probably get us in if we pose as SDC employees."

"How does it work?" Neptune sat up from the bed. "Crossing between the two territories, I mean."

"You need identification papers, first of all, to state that you're not a soldier and you have a legitimate reason to cross the border. I have fake papers that will be ready tomorrow. Klein will have them delivered to us in the morning, along with disguises."

"How is he?" Weiss asked.

"He's doing as well as before, but everyone's staying clear of father. He… tends to lash out a lot more than normal, even at him, for seemingly no reason. The faunus staff are... well, he's threatened to dock their pay for simply looking at him weird."

Weiss shook her head. "That's so like him. Always blaming everyone else."

"I'm beginning to see why you went to Beacon and Winter left for the military." Whitely admitted. "Father… _is_ kind of hard to deal with…"

"Well, I think we should go over the plan again. We'll have to lay low until the passes and disguises are here, so explain what's going to happen."

He smiled. "Well, here's how it's going to go."

"Just one last thing." Qrow took a slug from his bottle. "How is your dad going to react? Or did he set this up?"

"He currently has no knowledge, and one of two things will happen. He might, just might, congratulate us for striking at the enemy. Or, well, he'll probably immediately disown me and my sister, more likely." He answered truthfully.

"What about me?"

He looked at him, eyebrows raised. "You'll probably be shot, and your body tossed into a Grimm-infested mine somewhere in the middle of nowhere."

"Enough motivation for me, then." He took a last swig of the bottle and finished it, tossing it into the trash with a clink. "Let's get this plan in action."


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Jaune groaned as Pyrrha applied disinfectant to his wound. "Augh!"

"Jaune, relax." She continued working, picking up tweezers and picking at a splinter in his back. "You worked too hard today."

"It's not my fault! Tai keeps punching me into trees!" He winced as Pyrrha pried another one out of his back. "I hate my life."

"At least his training's paying off." She smiled. "You've improved so much since we've started."

"And it's only been two days…" He sighed in relief as Pyrrha put down the tweezers and put the last bandaid on his back. He sighed as he fell on the couch. "I'll just have to work harder…"

"Just don't push yourself too hard, alright? You're our leader, and we're worried about you."

"Thanks, Pyrrha. I can always count on you." He grinned, before resting his head on a pillow. Pyrrha blushed from the compliment. "Let me know when dinner's ready…"

He was soon asleep. Pyrrha sighed and packed away the first aid kit, before heading to the kitchen. As she closed the door, she came face-to-face with Nora.

"SO." She deadpanned. "When are you going to TELL HIM?"

"I-I… just… I want _him_ to-"

"Pyrrha." Ren sighed from behind the counter. He hadn't fared much better from Tai's training and was holding an ice-pack to his bruised arm, while resting his head on the counter. "He's as oblivious to love as Ruby is, and that's saying something. You're going to have to tell him yourself."

"That…" Pyrrha's face was completely red. "I… I don't think I can do that…"

"C'mon, it's simple! Just go to him, look him in the eye, and say _I love you!_ Simple!" Nora exclaimed. "It ain't rocket science!"

"I can't do that!"

"Yes you can! You're the Invincible Girl, Pyrrha Nikos! You can do it!"

Ren sighed as he watched them bicker and headed to the corridor. He ran into Tai there.

"Hey." He smiled. Despite literally pounding the two males to the ground, he didn't seem any worse of wear. "I heard what was going on."

"What do you think?"

He shrugged. "Hey, I didn't get two wives and two daughters by waiting around."

"That's… a pretty blunt answer. Can you tell her?"

He laughed. "Me, Taiyang Xiao Long, giving Pyrrha Nikos dating advice. I'll do my best." He walked past, and Ren sighed as he headed to the bathroom.

He looked out the hallway window. The stars shone bright in the sky, and he sighed. "I hope the others will be fine..."

* * *

Ruby was lying in the bed in their room. Despite it being the most comfortable bed she had ever lay on, she couldn't fall asleep. She just looked out the window.

Through the open curtains the battle still raged on the horizon. There was an orange glow in the distance, and through the glass she could occasionally hear a large explosion in the distance. Battleships still floated in the sky, and occasionally they'd fire down to the battlefield at the steel troops, with streaks of fire shooting from the ground at them.

"Weiss?"

She groaned slightly. "What?"

"Are you asleep?"

"I wouldn't be talking to you if I was, would I?" She replied irritably.

"Will we be alright?" She asked. "I mean… this war, it's a bit… more than what we're normally used to."

"We took on Roman Torchwick and the White Fang, Ruby. We invaded their base, fought against them in a speeding train and we fought Grimm during the breach. Is that not enough to prove we're capable?"

"But this is a war!" Ruby sat up. "This isn't a gang trying to rob a store, this is a war between the kingdoms! This is a world war, and I… don't think I'm cut out for this…"

Weiss sat up. "Don't tell me you're backing out."

"I'm not! But… I'm not sure if we're completely prepared for this. What if we have to… kill people?"

"Ruby." Weiss sighed. "The White Fang… you realise that you did kill people on that train?"

"I…"

"When you knocked them down, several were thrown off the train. Those mechs were piloted by faunus as well. But that is war. If you don't kill the person with the gun, they'll shoot you. If you don't kill the person with the knife, they'll stab you." She looked at her. "But… if we can, we won't kill them."

"Really?"

"If there's a way to avoid killing a person, you take it. You should only kill them if you have no other choice."

"Thanks Weiss. I feel much better."

"No problem."

"Goodnight." Ruby lay down again, and her breathing became more slow and regular as she fell asleep.

Weiss now stared out of the window, watching the battle for a few minutes, before yawning and lying down on the bed.

* * *

The train continued through the night. Silver watched through the window from his bed at the stars that shone brightly through the sky, surrounding the shattered moon.

He'd forgotten how nice it felt to not wear his helmet. He scratched his head and felt his ears again, letting them move to their heart's content.

"Can't sleep?"

He looked up to see Yang looking over the side of her bed, hair hanging down like a waterfall.

"Yeah…" He sighed. "Just… a lot going on in my mind…"

She smiled, before silently jumping down onto the floor. "Move over."

He complied, and she squeezed into the bed. He hugged her close to him.

"So wanna talk?"

He chuckled. "Well, I don't want to wake them up." He nodded to the other bunk bed.

Sun was snoring, leg and tail hanging over the edge of his bunk, while Blake was breathing silently, sitting up slightly, an open book in her hands.

"I have an idea." She stood up before gently moving them around. Silver struggled not to laugh as she laid back down on the bed.

"You are, without a doubt, the second most evil girl in the world."

Yang had taken Sun's long tail and had wrapped it around Blake's neck like a scarf.

"Let's hope none of them move in the night. I'd hate to tell Sun that he strangled her in the night."

"Blake will be fine. It's Sun I'd be worried about in the morning."

They both chuckled as they got comfortable together.

"Hey, you think we'll be alright?"

"Hell no, we'll stick out like a sore thumb." He yawned. "But once we get to the academy, we'll be alright."

"You ever feel like the world has gone mad?"

"Six years ago, yeah, I did. But, well, this is Remnant we're talking about."

"Mhmm…"

"I mean…" He sighed. "At least we're in this together. Bronze will now come after both of us, so we'll have to stick together in this, right?"

"..."

"Yang?"

She didn't reply, she was asleep. Silver smiled, before resting his head on the pillow next to her, careful to avoid her hair. "Goodnight."

He closed his eyes.

* * *

Ozpin sat in his office, waiting as the elevator rose to his floor. The door opened and Glynda walked out with General Ironwood. He did not look pleased.

"Is there a reason as to why you have dragged me from a war zone?" He asked hotly.

"There is. I must inform you that several of my students, as well as Qrow, have left on a personal mission to locate Bronze."

His eyes widened. "You didn't even bother telling me?!"

"We knew you'd react this way and say no." Glynda sighed as she moved to stand next to Ozpin.

"With good reason. Our enemies have, so far, murdered twenty four huntsmen in cold blood, as well as several hundred good men. I thought you cared about your students!"

"We do. And if we don't do something more will die." Ozpin replied. "They have left with solid objectives and are more than capable of completing them."

"I still can't believe you-"

"James. You said so yourself. Good men and women are dying as we speak. And these students can end this war sooner and with less casualties than with your conventional warfare."

He didn't answer, but just sighed. "Very well. What do you need from me?"

Ozpin smiled, reaching for his coffee mug.

* * *

"Well? Spit it out."

The doctor was nervous as she read from her notes. "I'm… sorry, ma'am, but your arm is beyond repair. We're… going to have to have surgery to… amputate the arm."

"Very well. Just one more thing."

"Y-yes?"

"Could you implant… _tools_ into my new hand?"

"We could have… attachable mods and weapons made-"

"Thank you. That is all. Let the technology and weapons teams know and get to work."

"Of course, ma'am." She saluted before heading out the room, closing it behind her.

Bronze sighed as she looked at her left arm. It was still painful and wrapped under several layers of bandages and casts. She was going to pay, that blond bitch…

She couldn't decide whether to kill Silver first or Yang. Preferably with both in close proximity of each other.

Maybe she'll let Yang suffer by killing Silver first. After all, he had his fair share of pain from the festival. Now it was time for her to pay.

She stood up, wincing in pain, as she made her way to the window.

Their new base in west Vale was going well. Already it spread for miles around, with fighter jets and planes flying in the air in formation, troops marching in sync between the buildings and compounds.

Bronze smiled. They still hadn't come up from under the radar yet. So far, the Allegiance of Steel, it was all going to plan.

Nothing would stop them. Much less a couple of teenagers working on _hope_.


	28. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Silver woke when he heard a loud thud and a yell. He sat up and saw Sun on the floor, clutching his backside. He then saw Blake, who was glaring at Sun, holding his tail in her closed fist with enraged eyes.

"Sun?" She slowly crushed his tail in her grip, and Sun yelled out in pain. "What. Were. You. Doing. To. Me?"

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" He yelled. "WHY ARE YOU CRUSHING MY TAIL?!"

Yang groaned, covering her ears. "I forgot Blake was a light sleeper."

Someone in the next room pounded on the wall. "SHUT UP!"

Silver chuckled. "Well, now everyone in this train's awake."

* * *

Breakfast was a sombre affair. Sun had to sit next to Silver to avoid Blake, who was still pissed off and had to be held back by Yang, who explained what happened. But what interrupted the tension was when Silver looked out the window. "Look."

They all followed his eyes and they also heard the other diner's conversations cease. Outside was the border between the two kingdoms. Stretching to the horizon was a large wall topped with barbed wire, with endless amounts of heavily-armed soldiers guarding it, most from Vacuo but a few Atlesian Paladins mixed in. As they crossed via a bridge that went over the wall, they saw their first look at the Steel army.

Large Mechs patrolled the other side, and robot soldier resembling Atlas Knights stood in formation along the wall, some marching, others standing still, all heavily armed with rifles. There were also armoured vehicles driving through with machine guns and cannons attached, all driven by soldiers. The train continued, but the sight made the passengers all nervous.

"We're going to have one stop here, in the territory." Blake broke the silence. "They'll be checking identification papers."

"In around two hours. Should we stick it out, or…" Sun trailed off.

Silver sighed. "We can't risk it. Besides, we're not staying in their territory, we're just passing through."

"Very well, then."

* * *

Two hours later, the train pulled to a stop in the station. Silver, Yang, Blake and Sun all waited in their room.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. "Excuse me? Open up!"

Sun answered the door, and a Steel soldier walked in and saluted.

He was surprisingly young, his face not even having a single facial hair yet. He had brown hair and brown eyes, and he was around Blake's height. He wore the uniform of the Allegiance of Steel. All his clothes and armour were a bronze colour. His helmet was a bronze-colored standard metal one, and he wore protective goggles that were blacked out and covered his eyes. He wore a long jacket with a bronze-colored camo and a bronze metal chest piece over it. His combat trousers were also with a bronze pattern with knee pads, and he wore black boots. His assault rifle was a bullpup design with a large magazine and grip. He held out his hand. "Identification papers, please."

They all handed them to him, and he proceeded to look over them. He paused on Silver's papers. He whistled slightly. "So you're a snow wolf?"

"Umm… yeah?"

"Sweet." He grinned. "My dad used to tell me stories about them all the time. So do you have any business here?"

Blake spoke up. "We're huntsmen heading to Shade academy in Vacuo."

"Ah… so you're not stepping off?"

"Nope."

He sighed with relief. "That's good. Because I sure as hell don't want to shoot you all."

Sun laughed nervously. "What does that mean?"

"Well, we've been ordered to shoot any huntsman or huntress without a license or legitimate reason to be within our borders. Something I, and a lot of others, personally don't like."

"Well, how should WE feel about this?" asked Yang sarcastically. The soldier laughed.

"You're all clear, it's all in order. Have a good day." He handed back the papers, saluted, then left the room. They then all noticed the lizard tail producing from his backside.

"He was a local." Sun leaned back slightly. "I'd recognise the accent, as well as his tanned skin. Probably doing it for the pay, if not being forced to."

"So they're recruiting… this just made things a lot harder." Silver sighed. "How good are your skills at knocking out, not killing?"

"Good." Sun replied. Blake nodded, while Yang shrugged.

"Alright. That's good enough." He leaned back slightly. "So now what?"

"We wait. At this rate, we'll be there in another four hours."

"I'm going to take a nap." Sun yawned, before leaping onto his bunk. "Wake me up when we arrive."

Blake laid down on her bed and pulled out a book.

"You're all so boring." Yang complained.

"Well, Sunflower, when the train starts moving, let's see if we can get to the train and blow the whistle, ok? I've always wanted to do that."

Yang now grinned and kissed him on the cheek. "You speak my language."

"I change my mind, can I join?" Sun sat up, eyes full of mischief.

"You're all idiots…" Blake shook her head and put down the book. Someone would have to keep them out of trouble.

* * *

The train finally pulled into the station in Vacuo. The four all stepped off.

Sun stretched. "Ahh. I missed the sun here."

"Easy for you two say." Silver was immediately sweating and wiped his brow. "How hot does it get here?"

"Eh, I like it." Yang shrugged. Blake was also sweating like Silver, though.

They made it to the street and stared at the square.

It was completely different from Vale. Cars jammed in the streets mixed with pedestrians who just walked between them like it was nothing. Several dozen soldiers were marching in formation, with a tent set up for recruitment. A line stretched across the whole square, showing how the war was affecting the lives of so many people. The megaphone from several officers, as well as the horns of the cars and the yelling of shopkeepers nearby all pounded against their ears.

"Sun? Is it… always this loud?" Silver looked around, ears flattened to the top of his head.

"Eh, this can be considered around average. Let's get a cab." He walked to the street and raised his hand. Immediately a van pulled up, and the driver got out. He was a small man with an old trench coat with the sleeves ripped off and sandals. Small antlers stuck from the top of his head.

"Where to, sir?"

"Shade academy." He handed him a bunch of lien. "Just to ensure our safety and quality of the ride."

He thumbed through the bills before sticking it in his pocket. "Well? C'mon, time doesn't wait for those left behind."

* * *

As the four Beacon students stepped out of the car (Blake almost vomited from the trip), they immediately headed into Shade academy.

The school vaguely resembled that of Beacon, except for the sand-colored buildings and palm trees. But just like Beacon, a CCTS tower rose from the center of the school.

As the four walked in, the first thing they noticed were the students. Shade had no uniform, so most students were wearing casual clothes. The second was their mood.

There was a sense of tension and anger in the school, with a lot of students practicing in the courtyards their fighting, sparring with each other for practice. Already there were several bullet holes and craters littered around the courtyard.

That didn't mean that they were hostile with the visitors. In fact, several students rushed to them to greet them, especially Silver.

"It's an honour to meet you, Silver."

"How are you even alive?"

"I told you that he'd make it."

"Snow wolf! I can't believe it!"

Sun, Blake and Yang watched the crowd surround Silver, who shook all of their hands. Yang leaned in to Sun. "I heard that Vacuo students don't treat visitors this way."

Sun shrugged. "In Vacuo, there's basically one rule. If you have what it takes to survive, you're an accepted member of society. So since Silver has fought Bronze and received such an injury, as well as surviving it, makes him worthy of being respected in Vacuo. That, and the whole OMA thing, of course."

They waited for a few minutes while Silver talked to the crowd. They had in fact been expecting them and several students led them to the teacher's quarters. The four then waited at the entrance to the CCTS tower.

"So… Is the situation that bad?" Silver turned to one of the students, a man by the name of Ross. His weapon of choice were two blades that could be hooked together with his two wooden sheaths to turn it into a dust-infused crossbow.

"We're pissed off. We've seen almost no action, and there's also the fact that several of our brothers and sisters were in the territories when the Steel invaded. Those who didn't leave were either killed or have gone missing."

Silver nodded, but at that moment the door opened and a man stepped in. "You can leave now, Ross. We've got… private matters to attend to."

Ross nodded and left the room. The man then turned to the four.

He was heavily tanned with black hair pulled back in a ponytail. He also wore combat clothes similar to those from Mistral, but they were the color of sand. He had the looks of someone who had years of experience under his belt.

"You four have guts, I'll tell you that. I've been debriefed on your mission, so I just want to check with you some things. First, will you need reinforcements? Any one of these students will follow you to battle should you just ask."

Silver looked at his friends, before turning to the man. "We're not interested in bringing in anyone else into this conflict."

"This war is ours as much as it is yours. Hundreds of men have sacrificed their lives for this war, and many huntsmen as well. Give us the word, and we'll make it happen."

"We won't be needing anyone else, but if you can, could you collect a possible strike team to get us out when we've completed our mission? Not too many, we don't want anyone else harmed, just your fastest bullhead with some students for possible medical help."

"You'll have the best students at your disposal, I can assure you. We will have to discuss the plan more thoroughly, though."

"Of course." Silver nodded, and Yang, Sun and Blake stepped forward as the man unfurled a map of the Steel territory on a table.

* * *

"You heard?"

"What?"

The two Steel guards stood at the door to the weapon's workshop, both holding assault rifles in their hands. One had the uniform of a Lieutenant, the other of a regular Private, both wearing armbands with their colors - Maroon and Orange.

"I heard that we're about to have company."

"Who?"

"Couple of huntsmen and huntresses on old Hermes in there." The first guard was barely an adult, around twenty, with a pair of glasses on.

The second guard was a younger kid, barely seventeen, with an orange fox tail producing from the plates of his armour. He was chewing on a chocolate bar. "I know he's a great guy, and he makes great weapons, but why would they want to kill him? Seems pretty harmless to me, all things considered."

"Kill? No, they want to kidnap him."

"Again, what? And again, why?"

"They have the secret to killing the General."

"Really? What is it? I'm sick of not knowing while everyone else in base seems to know!"

"If I tell you about it, we're both facing the firing squad! You remember what happened to that sergeant?"

"That old guy who yelled that the Steel army would soon be launched into chaos and destruction?"

"Yup."

"Ok then."

They fell silent.

"Soooo... Richard." The young faunus began, leaning against the wall.

"Yeah, Dexter?"

"You ever wonder why we're here?"


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

"Well, I think I look ridiculous."

Qrow muttered under his breath as he fiddled with the SDC maintenance uniform tie he was trying to put on. Winter sighed and tied it on for him.

"Shut up. If you mess up, you will cause the deaths of hundreds of people." She then grabbed him by the tie and pulled him forward, glaring at him. "If my brother gets even a SINGLE hair on him different from when he went in, you WILL suffer the consequences, _painfully_."

"Ok, ok. Sheesh." Qrow raised his hands in surrender.

Winter nodded, before letting him go. She turned away to gag from his breath, but Ruby and Whitely saw and started laughing. They were both in casual clothes, Ruby in a white and black dress and a winter coat with Whitely in a black jacket and blue jeans (which he admitted weren't so bad after a few minutes).

Neptune was also wearing an SDC maintenance uniform, which he was styling in front of the mirror. Weiss just sighed at the spectacle, wearing a normal blue dress with a light blue cardigan on. "Just… get over here. Too much and they won't believe you're an employee."

"So the plan..." Ruby spoke up. "Qrow and Neptune will pose as maintenance fixing a broken server. Weiss and Winter will be in the van guiding Nep and Qrow through the building through the microphones while Whitely and I keep watch from outside. "

"Then, after we locate the files with the info, we'll download it to a flash drive, and then get out of there." Neptune took the hat from Weiss and put it on his head.

"Rendezvous at the van on the other side of the block. Whitley and Ruby will cause a distraction in the front if things get hairy." Winter finished. "Let's go."

As they headed out, Whitely turned to Ruby. "How, exactly, are we supposed to create a distraction?"

She shrugged. "Hopefully, we don't have to. Qrow and Neptune have it under control. I think..."

Whitely sighed. "That is a very convincing argument, Ruby Rose."

* * *

"Excuse me, sir? I'm going to need to see your ID."

The Business and Management Center guard, an old man with greying black hair, took it from the teenager in the SDC uniform, looking it over. "Jacks Woodburn. That's your name?"

"Yup. I just graduated and this is my first job! Just started last week."

The guard smiled. "I remember my first job as well. Alright, everything's in order. Who's your buddy?"

"Don't mind him." Neptune pointed with his thumb at Qrow, who was leaning on a cart full of equipment. "He's my friend's uncle, actually, and he's the one who recommended this job."

"Alright, you both can go through. Ninety-seventh floor, server room is at the end of the corridor on your right, impossible to miss. Good luck with your new job."

"Thanks." Neptune signalled to Qrow, who pushed the cart to the lift. As the doors shut, they both sighed in relief.

"Thank god that guard was so lazy." Qrow muttered, his voice low in case of voice listeners.

"Or that my powers of persuasion were so awesome?"

"...I'll say the first one."

"You just had to go say that, you old-"

" _Shut up._ " Winter's voice sounded through their earpieces. " _Once we get into the server room, you must locate the right port and put in the flash drive. We can't find the information in there, so we're downloading the entire list so we can look it over in base._ "

The doors opened and they walked through to the server room. Two Steel guards stood at the door, both armed.

Neptune showed his ID. "SDC. We have a fault at one of the servers and we need it fixed by tonight."

The first guard looked over it. "Ok. We'll just check it in."

The second checked with the radio, but nodded them through a minute later. Winter's contacts had scheduled a fake booking for repairs. The two guards opened the door via two key cards at opposite ends of the door, the one on the left purposely a half-second behind the other. He nodded as the door swung open. "Fifteen minutes, we'll check in."

"We'll be done in five." Neptune grinned as he and Qrow wheeled the cart through the doors.

And both their jaws hit the ground.

Half the entire floor had been transformed into a labyrinth of ceiling-high computer servers. Hundreds, if not thousands, were spread out, all beeping and hissing as they generated and saved all the information across the kingdom as well as the rest of Remnant. They could barely see the end of the room, with glances on either direction revealing the same.

"Umm... Winter." Qrow whispered into his mike. "Can you tell us where it is?"

"Line S, fourth row, right side, the server on the bottom. Hurry up."

Neptune looked down the corridor. They could just barely make out the letter S in the distance. "Let's go then..."

* * *

The flash drive was inserted and they were halfway through the files, only three minutes to go. Neptune and Qrow had to pretend to be fixing the server because of a security camera located at the end of the row they were working on.

"Just a little more..." Neptune muttered as he merely ran his hands through the inside. Every now and then he'd gesture to Tai, who'd hand him a random tool from the cart.

"This is going too well..."

"C'mon! You should be happy! We're almost done with our mission and one step closer to getting Bronze."

"I just have a bad feeling that things might go to hell soon."

"What are you, the bearer of bad news?" Neptune turned back to the flash drive. "Got it! Let's go."

They packed up the gear while Qrow pocketed the flash drive. They nodded to the two guards outside, and as they opened into the lobby they pushed the cart through the doors.

"Too easy..." Neptune smiled.

"You know, maybe you're right." Qrow relaxed a bit as they walked through the doors towards their van. "We did it-"

"Freeze!"

They both looked up to see three Steel soldiers and ten Steel robots aiming their rifles at them.

"Me and my big mouth..." Qrow muttered as he raised his hands.

* * *

"Oh no..."

Ruby and Whitely stared at the scene in front of them.

Qrow and Neptune were being lead towards a van by several Steel guards, while a crowd had gathered, wondering what was going on. Qrow was loudly protesting while Neptune was silent, head down.

"Ok… Ruby, stay back." Whitely pushed his way forward through the crowd, but was stopped by a soldier.

"Sorry, sir. This area's restricted." A soldier told him.

"My name is Whitely Schnee, and I would like to know why two members of my father's company are being detained."

The guard looked back at another soldier, who walked forward. Unlike the first who had an orange armband, this one had a bright red one, indicating he was a sergeant.

"Mr. Schnee, these two snuck into the server room of the SDC files and were rooting around. We're currently investigating what they could have done."

"I would like to personally interrogate them."

"...we can do that for you. Please step to the van, you have one minute."

"Thank you."

"What are you waiting for? Your minute's already started."

Whitely stepped up to the van. Qrow and Neptune were sitting inside, but they looked up when the doors closed. "What are you doing here?" Qrow leaned back.

"I came for what is rightfully mine. What did you take, and I want it back." Whitely opened his palm at them, but he winked.

"Nothing at all." Qrow spoke up, going along with the acting. "Jacks?"

Neptune opened his mouth and spat out the flash drive, before handing it to Whitely. "Nothing else."

Whitley clearly didn't want to take the saliva-covered drive, but he threw away his dignity and grabbed it, putting it in his jacket pocket. "Very well. I hope a more _proper_ questioning with my company will lead to better answers." With that, he opened the door and stepped out.

"They admit to anything?" The sergeant asked.

"No. But if anything has been tampered with, I bet we'll find out soon enough." He replied, before heading off. "Thank you, sergeant."

Whitely went through the crowd to a shocked Ruby. He reached into the jacket and pulled out the flash drive with his finger and thumb. "Take it. You're friend had it in his mouth."

"No way!" Ruby stepped back. "That's gross. You keep it!"

"I can't believe you." He made to pocket the flash drive, but at that moment a hand reached out and grabbed it.

" _HALT."_

The two turned to see a Steel Robot standing over them, holding Whitely's fist in it's metal hand.

" _IDENTIFY YOURSELVES."_

"What is this?! Unhand me at once!" Whitely pulled, but the robot's fist just tightened, making him wince. It lifted him up so that he was hanging in the air.

" _YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO STEAL STOLEN INFORMATION FROM THE BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT CENTER. YOU ARE HEREBY DETAINED AND THE STOLEN ITEM IS TO BE TAKEN FOR EVIDENCE."_ The robot then reached for the flash drive in Whitely's hand.

Ruby then sprang to action. With help from her semblance, she shot forward, kicking the robot in the head. It lost it's grip with Whitely and stumbled to the road - before being smashed by an eighteen-wheeler truck.

Said truck lost control. The connector between the cab and the trailer broke. The cab harmlessly span to a stop in the middle of the road, but the trailer flew down the road, over the pavement...

Straight at the van with Qrow and Neptune.

The trailer smashed into the back corner, sending it spinning wildly. Ruby saw Qrow and Neptune flung from the vehicle through the doors, which had been broken from the impact. Qrow grabbed a stunned Neptune, gave Ruby a thumbs up, before running around the corner and disappearing.

The two barely had time to enjoy their small victory when shouts rang out from the soldiers. Ruby grabbed Whitely's arm. "C'mon!"

They ran down the street, while police sirens started to wail across the city.

* * *

"You are joking."

Winter was breathing heavily with the radio to her ear while Weiss stared at the screens. Two Atlas soldiers manned the banks of screens and cameras, watching the scene go by.

"Look, your brother's got the drive, pick him up and get him out of there. We'll be back in Atlas territory tonight." Qrow answered.

"This was supposed to be QUIET! How in the world did they find out?!"

"Ma'am." One of the soldiers looked up. "Subjects _Rose_ and _White_ are heading to fifth avenue, they're being chased by several Steel troops."

"Can we get to them?"

"Negative, but if they can lose the soldiers they'll be able to rendezvous at the LZ."

"...fine. Continue surveying their progress."

"Yes, ma'am." The soldier saluted before turning back to the screen. Weiss looked at her sister.

"Can we not help them?"

"No, we were both barred from entry into this territory in the first place." She looked at the screen again.

"But Whitely's out there!"

"He has Ruby Rose with him, they'll be fine."

"...if you say so."

They fell silent as they watched the scene unfold. "Damn it Ruby..." Weiss muttered. "Look after brother for me..."


	30. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

 **Author's Note: IMPORTANT. This story will now be entering a slower upload speed. I am finding incredible trouble to find time to write my stories as this is a shared computer, as well as terrible Wifi connections. That doesn't mean this story is over, as I am working on the next chapter now. Thank you for your understanding, and Enjoy!**

* * *

Silver, Yang, Sun and Blake still had the rest of the day to themselves, so they decided to prepare in their own ways.

Silver and Sun decided to head to the training arena to get some last-minute practice in. Several students complied with their requests for spars, and there was in fact a line to the arena.

Meanwhile, Yang convinced Blake to head down to the school swimming pool. A last chance to enjoy themselves, as well as get some exercise in.

A few minutes later, Yang and Blake were doing laps through the open-air pool, and between lengths they would be chatting with the other swimmers - all students - about the situation with the Allegiance of Steel.

Eventually, Yang got out and lay down on a sunlounger, enjoying the sun drying her hair and body. She still saw several males casting longing glances at her, but knowing she was already taken and that they stood no chance made it all the more fun for her.

"Hello, Yang."

She looked up to see team NDGO, all in swimwear. Yang still remembered their attempts to seduce Silver during the match, so she just responded with a simple "Hi."

Dew and Gwen both set their stuff on the chair next to her before jumping into the pool, but Nebula and Dew both just sat down next to her.

"We'd… like to apologize for our behavior during the festival. It was uncalled for." Nebula began.

"Oh… well, sure, it's fine. Just don't do it again." Yang shrugged.

"That was horrible, what Bronze did to him. Everyone here wants to be the one to hold the knife to her throat or the gun to her head."

"Sorry, when we're done with her, there'll be nothing of her left. I'll try save her helmet for you, though, as a trophy for the school."

"Thank you."

"So..." Dew put in. "You're dating Silver?"

Yang grinned. "Yup. Sorry, ladies. He's chosen me."

"Are you sure it's not the other way round?"

Yang flicked her off. "Shove it up your-"

"Oh-kay. I'm sorry for Dew's behavior." Nebula pushed herself between them. "She's still sore about the whole… _Silver not being free_ thing."

"Hey. I'm fine being single. I mean, you've been dating for three weeks? Already, you're losing your shape." Dew laughed.

Yang looked down. Oh god. She WAS gaining more fat. She'd been laying off during the weeks and had been eating more, that might explain it. But she tried to play it off.

"Trust me, it's awesome." She stood up and stretched, before leaning down. "Just so you know, his muscles aren't the only big parts of him."

Their eyes widened in realisation after a moment. "No. Way. Like, behemoth, or..."

"That." Her smile widened. "It's just one of the best things in the world."

"Ok, screw you." Dew sat back, glaring at her. "That's no fair to any of us."

"Hey, I was first." She then ran and dived into the pool. Dew and Nebula followed her, intending to find out more.

* * *

"Yo, Silver."

"Hmm?"

Sun and Silver were sitting in the canteen eating their dinner. Yang and Blake were still swimming at the pool, so they decided to let them be while they got food.

"You and Yang are a thing now, right?"

"Last I checked, yeah?"

"So you've been..." He then made a gesture with his hands. Silver blushed a bit.

"Look, we've got a pretty important mission tomorrow, so let's just try to prepare for it, alright?"

"That means yes, I take it." He laughed, causing Silver to blush more. "But you're right. So what is the plan? You made me, Blake and Yang step out halfway through."

Silver sighed and looked down at his plate. "We're dropping in tomorrow. The Vacuo military trapped in the territory during the invasion managed to set up a very effective resistance with the locals. We get in and they'll be able to send us to Oasis, where Herman Vulcan is being kept."

"How _exactly_ do we get in?"

"Bullhead. But once we're at Oasis, we'll be hiding out at one of the camps set up by the resistance leader of the town. From there, we have three choices for entry into the camp.

"One, we can get go in, guns blazing. The resistance has agreed to help, as well as the Vacuo special forces there. But the Allegiance might then prosecute the civilians in Oasis for the attack, as well as the assault causing deaths.

"Two, we get uniforms and sneak in. The resistance has two of their men inside the base, which is how we got the information. Obvious con is, one slip-up will mean that we will be caught and killed.

"Three, we sneak in, no uniform, just stick to the shadows at night. I actually think this might be our best course of action."

"How?" Sun stared at him. "Sneaking into a ship is one thing, experience speaking. A full size military camp guarding who we want to sneak out is something else entirely."

"It's our best bet. The other two aren't much better, so are you in?"

Sun sighed. "Fine. To be honest, I think the uniforms just might work, and if things go to hell… then we go guns blazing."

"Great. So now we need Yang and Blake to agree."

Sun leaned back in his chair. "Should we keep sparring after this?"

Silver shrugged. "Sure. It's not like we're going to regret it or anything. Muscle pains, possible wounds from the students, who'll be trying their best to beat us with everything they have as we're in the most violent of the kingdoms..."

They stared at each other for a moment before laughing. "Yeah, let's just go to the library instead."

As they put their plates away and headed to the library - ignoring several invites to the training rooms and sparring arenas - Silver looked out at the city from the walkway.

"You alright?"

Silver shrugged. "I dunno, I just had a feeling… about Ruby and the others."

"Oh yeah. They should be starting their mission right about now… don't worry." He clapped him on the back as they entered the building. "I'm sure everything's just fine."

Just as they stepped in, they saw several students gathered around the TV set up in the main lobby, which was on a news channel.

 _"What was originally supposed to be a bust for potential robbers attempting to steal information from the Business and Management Center ended up with a crashed semi-truck and now a full city-wide search for these fugitives. The Atlas government and military has denied claims that these are Atlesian operatives. Two individuals, after evading the Steel soldiers originally assigned to the arrests, are currently on the run in the city, while the other two who snuck in escaped after the holding van was hit by the truck. There are rumors that all four are, in fact, huntsmen and huntresses, but so far nothing concrete has come up yet..."_

Sun groaned while Silver chuckled half-heartedly. "Me and my big mouth…"

Silver turned back to the screen and sighed. Displayed was the wreckage from the city, the holding van on it's side with the trailer crashed into it, a crowd gathered in front of it and Steel soldiers rushing through the streets.

' _God damn it, Ruby. Be careful, for god's sake.'_

* * *

"HYAAAAH!"

Jaune charged forward, using his shield to strike the Ursa. While it stumbled, Jaune pushed off the ground and stabbed Crocea Mors through its head. The Grimm fell back, dissolving, while Jaune pulled his sword out and hopped off.

"Good job." Tai walked over to him, wiping his brow.

Pyrrha had just finished off the last Beowulf while Ren and Nora killed the last Deathstalker. Well, in fact, Ren lead it (was chased by it) to a clearing where Nora crushed it under her enormous hammer.

They all met up and caught their breath. The town of Yellow Rock in the east of Vale had been one of the few settlements with Grimm trouble, from several Deathstalkers to Beowulf and Ursa packs. The Grimm that they had just killed were the last.

They all headed to the trading town, which had been set up as a central point inland for the shipping and trade sent from Mistral to the coastal ports. Due to its importance, no amount of cost had been spared for its protection, from the large walls to the enormous anti-air guns to defend the airspace.

Jaune pulled out his scroll and pressed the contact button. "This is team JNPR and Tai Xiao Long. We've finished the mission and want a ride back."

 _"Roger, this is Bullhead 617. Will be there in a few seconds."_

Sure enough, the familiar whine of the Bullhead's jet engines approached from the sky. The vehicle landed in the clearing and the five jumped in, the Bullhead immediately shooting to the sky back to Yellow Rock.

"See? I told you it was a good idea." Tai punched Jaune lightly on the shoulder, so he only got pushed back three feet. "In less than a day's work!"

"Yeah." He rubbed his now-bruised arm, his first injury of the day. "I'm still worried about the others."

"Don't sweat it, Jauney-boy!" Nora exclaimed. "They'll be fine!"

"It's sweet that you're worried about them. So are we." Pyrrha smiled at him. "But we have to prepare for when we have to go."

"I know… but is hunting Grimm really the best way to prepare?"

Ren, sitting across from him, shrugged. "At this point, we just have to prepare for anything."

The Bullhead passed over the walls of Yellow Rock and landed at the airpad. They jumped out to be met by the leader of the town with the General of the local militia.

"Thank you so much. We just couldn't risk sending out our troops after them." The leader shook Tai's hand. "The money will be paid to you in your account. If there is anything else we could do…"

"There… is something." Tai leaned in to whisper to him. "Do you perhaps have any special metals. Such as iron or bronze?"

The General shook his head. "I'm sorry, but after the… Steel invasions, almost all resource trade and shipping has ceased, and our metal warehouses are empty."

"Ah… It's ok, we're glad we could help." Tai shook his hand. "Could you arrange our transportation back home?"

"Of course. The Bullhead will take you back to Vale, where you can get a flight to patch." The leader of the town nodded.

"Great. Thanks again."

Meanwhile, team JNPR were all relaxing in the bullhead that would take them to Vale when Jaune's scroll rang.

He opened it and saw Ozpin on the other end. "Hello, Jaune."

"Hi, Ozpin. What are you calling for?"

"I just wanted to check up on your team's progress so far. I understand Taiyang has taken you under his wing and you are in Yellow Rock."

"How'd you know?"

"I know everything about my students."

Jaune laughed. "Figures. Speaking of which, do you know how the other's are doing?"

"Silver, Yang, Sun and Blake have arrived in Shade academy. As for Ruby, Weiss, Qrow and Neptune… they're in the middle of a chase in the capital of Atlas."

"What?!" He yelled out. His teammates, all listening in, were shocked. "How?!"

"That doesn't matter. Neptune and Qrow escaped capture, but Ruby and Whitely are still on the run. We can't intervene, or else the Allegiance will have the perfect excuse to completely take out the capital of Atlas and effectively cripple the entire kingdom."

"But you can't just let them hang! Can we do anything to help them?" Nora leaned over his shoulder to glare at Ozpin.

"Unfortunately not. But you need to have faith in Ruby. Your time will come, so you need to focus on your preparation and training."

None of team JNPR liked that idea, but they all nodded as they hung up. Jaune immediately switched over to a news channel, which informed them of the situation.

"Looks like all four of them are alright." Pyrrha noted.

"Yes, but for how long?" Ren's eyes took in the several Steel troops and robots swarming the scene. "They have a lot of manpower."

"Ruby will know what to do." Jaune was without a doubt. "She didn't become leader of team RWBY with nothing."

They all watched on in silence, all hoping for Ruby's safety.


	31. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

 **Author's note: I am so sorry for the extremely late upload, but both writer's block and my trip in LA have made it hard to come up with a good chapter and as a result, this chapter is a bit short.**

 **Thank you for your patience, and until next time, enjoy!**

* * *

"What do we do?!"

"I don't know! I'm trying to think!"

Ruby and Whitely were walking down one of Atlas's most crowded streets, the shopping avenue, trying to blend in with the crowd. They did lose the soldiers, but now they were lost. No chance to get back to Weiss and Winter, and they were being chased. They were arguing silently with each other to avoid being heard.

"We have to get back to Weiss and Winter, or else we're dead!" Whitely was panicking, although he was hiding it from his face.

"I know! C'mon… think, think, think…" Ruby scratched her head, mind whirling. "Can we get back to Atlas territory?"

"We'll have to cross through one of the three checkpoints, and because of this they'll be under surveillance." Whitlely moaned. "We're just going to have to hide out…"

He suddenly grabbed Ruby and dragged her behind an open stall. A trio of Steel soldiers marched by, narrowly missing them. "That was way too close."

"So, where do we go?"

"Anywhere but here." Whitely led her to the main road where he hailed a taxi. He then gave the driver a street name. "Take us here quickly."

"Where are we going?" Ruby asked as the car pulled out into the traffic.

"You'll see."

* * *

They arrived in a small second-floor restaurant, where Whitely got them a table near the corner. The beauty of it was that outside the window they were next to they could see the border between the Atlas and Steel territory, right next to one of the checkpoints, with no chance of them looking in.

The entire border consisted of a large concrete wall lined with towers. Behind it was a large open area filled with mines and barbed wire, with deep trenches to prevent the passing of vehicles except on the road. The Atlas side had a wall with towers as well, and the entire area was around two hundred meters across.

"They definately have increased the security." Ruby noted, as soldiers lined the road inside of the two walls, guns out. A Steel mech, heavily armed, slowly marched down the wall, passing them. They accepted drinks from the waitress as they continued watching.

"So… is there a plan?"

Ruby looked up. "I could use my semblance… but I don't think I can carry both of us across."

Whitely remained silent, before pulling out the flash drive and handing it to her. "Can you carry this?"

She looked up. "What…?"

"You just have to speed right through the border, and get this to your friends. I can wait here for Winter to send an extraction."

"No. We're both getting out of this." Ruby shoved the flash drive back into his hands.

"And risk losing this? Qrow and Neptune almost got caught! We'd have lost everything!"

"I'm not losing anyone else." Ruby answered, completely serious. "I almost lost my best friend. I'm not going to have anyone else sacrifice themselves."

"For god's sake, I'm not! I'm going to just wait for Winter to get me out!"

"But they'll find you anyway!"

They continued bickering, but then they heard the sound of the door to the restaurant slamming open. "Huntsmen, freeze!"

They looked up to see several Steel soldiers running inside, guns raised. Whitely stood up and grabbed Ruby as they ran through a door to the balcony outside.

Bullets smashed the glass windows as they ran and leapt off the edge, where they sprinted for the checkpoint, which had been almost abandoned. The two soldiers who were there raised their weapons but Ruby shot forward and smashed into them, knocking them back into the wall and out cold. "C'mon!"

They ran though, sprinting through the center under the highway, towards the Atlas border. Several soldiers there stared in shock. Sirens sounded from the Steel side as the border gates automatically closed shut.

"We're almost there! Just-" Whitely was suddenly cut off by a gunshot. Ruby turned to see a bullet pass through the side of his neck.

"NOOOO!" She screamed as Whitely fell. She looked up to see a sniper in a tower reloading his rifle. Ruby rushed to Whitely, grabbed him, and activated her semblance.

All the Atlas soldiers saw was a sudden flash fly by through the gap of the closing gates, leaving a trail of both red and white petals in its wake, as well as a trail of blood on the floor.

* * *

"Whitely! Oh no…"

Ruby ended up deep in the capital in an alleyway, with Whitely holding onto his neck in pain. Blood continued pouring out of his cut, which while missing his main artery was still causing him to lose consciousness from blood loss.

Ruby tore off the sleeve of her jacket and pressed it to the wound, slowing it down. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. You'll be fine!"

A few minutes later, a van arrived with Atlas medics and Winter. As Whitely was taken away, he pulled out the flash drive and held it out to Ruby, but Winter took it instead. "You rest, alright? You're safe…"

Whitely could barely nod before he passed out, and the medics loaded him in, the van's tires screeching as it left. Winter then turned on Ruby, eyes cold.

"You almost killed my brother." She said to Ruby, who looked down, tears rolling down her eyes. "Do you have any idea how I feel right now?"

She didn't respond, but suddenly jerked back as Winter slapped her across the face, hard. "That is the least you deserve!" She yelled, her own sword out and aimed at Ruby's face. For a few tense moments, the sword remained before Winter sheathed it.

"Qrow will be back to pick you up." With that, she left.

Ruby stared down at her hands to realise she still had Whitely's blood on them. She cried quietly until she felt a hand on her shoulder and Qrow's voice.

"Hey." He said softly.

She hugged him tightly, sobbing into his shirt, while Qrow picked her up and carried her away, ignoring the blood on his shirt.

* * *

Neptune opened the door to the hotel, already out of his uniform. "Hey."

Ruby and Qrow had found a public bathroom on the way so she could clean herself up. But she just ran past and slammed her bedroom door shut.

Neptune sighed. "This whole thing's a mess." He kicked the SDC uniform on the ground as Qrow changed into his regular clothes. "Just so you know, Weiss is at the hospital with Whitely. He's stable now, but still out cold, so to speak."

Qrow sighed as he reached into the minibar and grabbed a bottle. "Yeah… but at least we have what we came for. Any word?"

He nodded. "Mistral. Place called _Miner's City_. Fourth largest fire dust mine in Mistral, but they seemed to unearth a lot of steel, gold, and bronze metal. But also a lot of silver…" Neptune looked out the window.

Qrow took a swig from the bottle. "Alright, we'll get team JNPR ready."


	32. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

 **A/N: Thank you so much for 7,500 views at the moment of posting. I can't believe we're at that number. And thank you for all the reviews (except for that one about Jesus and Judgement Day, but that's not relevant). Here is a new chapter, and I am signing this off in my last night in America, specifically LA. It was an awesome trip, but I am totally ready to go home to my bed, books and playstation. Updates will be more quick in a few days until school starts, so I'll try and get as much down as possible for you all before school. Again, thank you so much, and enjoy!**

* * *

"Good morning, ladies and gents." The pilot of the bullhead greeted them. "Just call me FSN. I'll be your pilot today."

The woman who would be dropping in Silver, Yang, Sun and Blake greeted them. She wore a white flight suit and a white helmet with a blue visor. Silver shook her hand. "Good to meet you. How will we be dropping in?"

"From the sky." She replied. "Also, anyone here get motion sick? Pick up the slack, those aren't going to move themselves!" She yelled at man with a white mechanic's uniform who was pushing a crate towards the bullhead.

Blake slowly raised her hand. "I think I developed it on the drive here." She replied, to the chuckles of the others.

FSN then turned to her. "So, chances of puking?"

"No, not-"

"Good, because if you mess up the floor, I'm throwing your ass of the plane." She clapped her hands and turned, missing Blake's pale face. "Let's go, people! Hey, I said move that over THERE!" She yelled at the guy again, who groaned and started dragging the crate in the opposite direction.

"Is she serious?" Blake whispered to Yang as they headed to the air pad.

She nodded. "I think you should keep your food down."

* * *

The bullhead was a larger model build for high-altitude flight, and after they had closed the doors the ship flew into the sky, gaining altitude at a very high rate, enough to press the passengers down into their seats.

"It's a three hour journey, so sit back and relax." FSN called from the cabin. "Also, you might wanna huddle up. Gets real cold up here."

Sure enough, the temperature fell by several degrees. Silver just wrapped his arms around Yang, but for Blake and Sun it was more… awkward, to say the least.

"Just kiss and makeup already." Yang broke the silence. "It's depressing to watch you two just getting colder till it matches your attitude."

"Shut up!" Blake snapped, while Sun winced, staring out the window.

"Blake, please." Silver sighed. "You're acting all high and mighty, but just please loosen up for once in your life."

"We can't! We're dropping in on one of our most dangerous missions of all time, against impossible odds with no chance to mess up!"

"You were like this with Torchwick and the Fang, and guess what? You would have died if you'd have kept up the attitude." He spoke up. "You exhausted yourself to the point you were barely functioning, and guess what? You loosened up, went to the dance, actually let go of your worries, and you were in top notch condition to face Roman and take them down!"

Blake fell silent, knowing he was right. Sun looked at them out of the corner of his eyes, hopeful.

"Fine." She sighed. "What do you want me to do?"

Sun then took his cue to slide next to her and put an arm around her. Blake almost sent an elbow into his face, but stopped herself. Yang grinned while Silver clapped. "Good work!"

"You know, Wolf and Blondie are right." FSN walked in from the cockpit, apparently checking on some equipment. "You need to loosen up a lot. I should know what strain does to a person, and nothing good."

"You have a husband?" asked Silver.

FSN laughed as she wrote on a clipboard. "Nope, but I'm dating. You saw him, guy I was yelling at on the pad. Not much of a looker, but cute. Nice as well to boot."

They shared stories about each other, only for Silver to notice that Blake was asleep, head resting on Sun's shoulder, and - amazingly - sitting on his lap. He grinned at Silver, who gave him a thumbs up. Yang held up her scroll, taking a picture. "Sweet. New profile pic."

* * *

"Alright, we're here, get up!"

FSN pulled the Bullhead into a lazy circle as she walked into the back where the four huntsmen and huntresses were ready. Blake had to be woken up, but she was now much more relaxed, albeit a bit embarrassed. Sun looked over the moon.

"Put these on." FSN opened a crate and pulled out sky-blue skydiving suits, making their eyes widen in shock. "What? What did you expect when I said you were _dropping in_?"

"Not literally!" Sun exclaimed as a suit, a helmet and a parachute was pushed into his arms.

"Kid, we've been talking for the better part of three hours." She deadpanned as she helped Yang into her suit.

"Well, you told us _before_." Silver muttered as he just pulled on the parachute over his armor.

* * *

"Right." FSN clapped her hands when they were all in gear, wearing suits, helmets with visors and parachutes all secure on their backs (Except for Silver, who just had a parachute). "You'll jump out. There are lights on both of the sleeves of your suits that will light up in green, yellow then red. When the last one lights up, pull the cords. Simple. Also, steer for the circular clearing to the right of the mountains." She walked to the back and grabbed a lever on the side. Immediately, the back started opening and wind rushed in. "Ok, you're clear."

Blake was now completely pale. "Y-you're joking!"

She shrugged. "We can't land, or else we'll be shot out of the sky. Jumping in, you'll be too fast for radar to track you and the altitude you pull the chutes will be just below radar level. Now go."

Silver and Yang cautiously walked over to the open back, but Blake was rooted to the ground in fear. "This is crazy! I'm not jumping from… from…"

"Eighty three thousand feet. But don't worry, all you have to do is jump and then pull the cord. It's simple."

Sun pushed her forward, but she just clutched his arm and closed her eyes shut. "Just… don't tell me when we're falling."

They lined up at the edge, with Blake in the middle to stop her from grabbing the bullhead's sides. FSN stood behind them. "Alright, on my mark."

Silver turned and shook her hand. "Thank you, FSN."

She smiled behind the visor. "Call me Four Seven Niner. It's my real callsign. Right, on three. One."

Blake's grip tightened, and they all tensed.

"Two." She then shoved them forward suddenly, and they all fell out.

"YOU'LL THANK ME LATER!" She yelled after them as the bullhead fell away.

* * *

Yang remembered her initiation, being flung into the air and sent plummeting to the ground. A sense of deja vu passed over her.

Then she looked down.

The ground was impossibly far away, and they could literally see the curve of the planet as they fell. She somehow could see the clearing they were meant to be landing in, it's size the equivalent of an ant's head.

She spotted Silver falling with Sun and Blake. She steered towards them slowly, and could hear them - somehow - over the roaring wind.

Silver was looking at her and grinning as he floated to her and grabbed her hand, before pulling her towards the others. She could hear them arguing.

"BLAKE! GET OFF!"

"NO!"

"WE'LL DIE IF YOU DON'T LET GO!"

"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!"

Blake was still holding onto Sun's arm, who was trying to push her off, resulting in them spinning. Silver flew in and separated them, but Blake was still holding on to Sun's hand tightly.

"WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" She yelled, uncharacteristically panicking.

"JUST RELAX!" Silver yelled.

"RELAX?! HOW THE HELL CAN YOU RELAX?!" she screamed.

"WE'VE STILL GOT, LIKE, AN HOUR, SO START PANICKING WHEN WE ACTUALLY APPROACH, ALRIGHT?!"

They continued falling, the ground still growing closer. After fifteen minutes of free falling, the lights on their sleeves lit up green, signalling them to prepare their chutes.

Sun grabbed Blake's cord for her, as she was now just hiding her face behind her hands. Yang and Silver grabbed theirs, and the lights turned yellow.

"READY?!" Silver yelled.

The lights turned red, and they pulled their cords. Thankfully, all four parachutes opened up, and they got pulled into a very slow descent.

They landed dead center in the valley not a minute later. But while Yang and Silver landed on their feet, Blake just collapsed to the ground while Sun did as well.

"Ok, Blake I understand, but Sun?" Silver walked to him, pulling off the chute.

He was rolling on the floor clutching his crotch. "Hmmm Ggghhh…" He groaned.

"Ah." Silver winced. "I guess it wasn't on properly." All that velocity from his parachute opening went straight down to his crotch area. And it wasn't pretty. "Thank god for aura, or you'd never have any kids."

"Urrgh…" He moaned again. Meanwhile, Yang was busy with Blake.

"Hey, kitty-cat. Wake up." Yang lightly slapped her. Blake's eyes shot open and she grabbed her, a dark aura emitting from her.

"NEVER. AGAIN." she glared at her, eyes filled with the very definition of fury and anger, almost on fire. Yang just held her hands up, and tried to pull away.

"It wasn't my idea in the first place. It was FSN... I mean Four Seven Niner."

"You are taking me to her so we can throw her off as well." She still had a death-grip on Yang, visibly pissed off at being pushed out.

"She _does_ that for a hobby. But look, we're alive." She added, smiling.

Blake just glared at her until she let go. She seemed to calm down a bit, the dark aura fading away.

"Right, the resistance should be here somewhere." Silver looked around with Sun standing up, still clutching his crotch.

"Hands up!"

They spun around to see several figures rising from the tall grass around them. They were all wearing tan uniforms and some wore metal helmets, some with grass in the bands around them. All were carrying a mix of weapons from new assault rifles to old hunting shotguns. However, they lowered them when they recognized the figures.

One stepped forward, an old faunus with grey hair, bull horns and an old captain's war helmet. "It is good to meet you, snow wolf."

"Please. Call me Silver." he shook his hand. "You are the resistance? When will we get to camp?"

"It will take a couple of hours to get to the rendezvous. Shall we?"

Sun had recovered, but when Blake tried to stand up she collapsed again. "I'm sorry, but that jump…"

Sun picked her off the ground, to her shock. "Let's go."

"Sun!" She protested as they started walking, while Silver and Yang laughed along with the other resistance fighters.

The leader chuckled before leading the way. "Kids these days."


	33. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

 **A/N: I am very sorry for the late upload, but I have been relaxing after my 7 week holiday. Plus I just got Call of Duty Modern Warfare Remastered, and it's a blast to play! But without further a due, here's the next chapter. Leave a review, hope you like it, and see you next time! Enjoy!**

* * *

"All of our men, while young, will follow you to battle should you need them to."

"We weren't planning on it. We want this to be quick and quiet."

Silver stood in the planning room of the rebel camp, which was set in an extinct volcano in the mountain ranges. They could see Oasis from the top, a sprawling settlement with its own skyscrapers, although they were clearly made by the Allegiance of Steel, and only within the confines of the main base, where Herman Vulcan was being kept.

The leader - a woman from the Vacuo military command with dark brown hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin - was looking over the map of the base with Silver, while Yang, Sun, and Blake sat to the side, recovering from the long trek. Silver, despite the heat, made it with no issues, but the others were exceptionally tired, Sun especially, but he'd insisted on carrying Blake the entire way.

"Your armor has been modified into the standard Steel uniform of the heavy machine gunners. We've managed to get a uniform for a rifleman for either one of your friends." The leader nodded to Sun and Yang.

"We need a path that we will be able to take back here whether or not the alarm is active." Silver told her. She, in turn, traced a path across the map.

"Been there, done that."

"Ok. Yang and I will sneak in with the uniforms while Sun and Blake clear the path of guards. Then, we just grab Herman, and walk right on out."

"You have a lot of trust on your friends." The leader noted.

"Eh. Sometimes, you just gotta have faith." He shrugged. "We have to leave at nightfall."

"Right, we'll have two guides waiting at the exit, as well as lead you to safety after your mission is done."

"Thank you ma'am." He saluted, and she did the same.

Silver, Yang, Sun and Blake left the tent. "So this is it." Sun broke the silence as they headed to their own tent. "We're going in."

"To that." Blake gestured to the base. It had three large warships floating above it and several squadrons of jets circling the area.

"We'll have the cover of darkness as well as uniforms, it'll be fine." Silver waved away the doubts.

"So that uniform… is it for males or females?" Yang wondered.

"Is _that_ what you're worried about?" Blake stared at her partner.

She gestured to her chest. "Hey, fitting these puppies in a male chest-plate is all but impossible."

"She's not wrong, they're bigger than you'd think." Silver joked, and they all laughed, but not before Yang smacked him across the back of the head, red faced.

* * *

Luckily, the uniform was in fact for a female, and the chest area was adjustable for size. Both Silver and Yang approached the base, Sun and Blake dressed completely in black (Sun's blond hair covered by a black beanie), and the two guides leading the way, silenced assault rifles at the ready.

Silver's armor was basically his own, except with its color, which was in the bronze camo pattern. He wore his helmet with the same pattern, and Yang wore a similar uniform to that of the soldier from the train.

"Gate's up there. You can probably grab that jeep and get in, our informant's at the gate." The first guide told them.

There was a Steel Jeep sitting to the side of the road next to an empty booth, and beyond that was the gate into the compound. It was a simple bar gate, but the large walls meant that a steel door would roll and close should there be an attack.

Yang and Silver shook the guide's hands and told them to wait, before walking purposely to the jeep. He went into the open driver's seat while Yang took the passenger's seat. "You know how to drive?"

He nodded, starting the engine. "I think I've got the hang of this. Although why there are six pedals in this jeep is beyond me…"

He drove the car slowly to the gate, where a soldier walked out. "Hello, you new here?" He checked their fake ID's but shot them a wink.

"Yup. Just got started on the new job!" Yang replied cheerfully.

"Right, you should immediately report to the sentry duty for Herman Vulcan. Straight down, take the second left and it's on the right side of a parking area with Mechs, it's impossible to miss."

"Thanks." She waved as the bar rose and they were in.

Said guard then gave a hand signal, when Sun and Blake crept in. "Are you sure we'll be alright?"

He nodded. "Take out the snipers in those three towers over there, and get on the wall to disable the spotlights and alarm, it's the fourth fuse box from the left in the line. This is important, the one next to that turns off the main complex's light generator."

They nodded, before jumping up and climbing up the wall, hidden in shadows. The guard smiled before sitting down in his booth and grabbed a mug of coffee.

* * *

As Silver and Yang drove to the holding place of Herman Vulcan, they spotted Sun and Blake in the background, occasionally leaping across the buildings and dashing through the clearing. They watched as a sniper on a tower was suddenly choked out by Sun wielding his staff, while Blake used Gambol Shroud to pull a patrolling guard into the shadows, silently knocking him out.

"At this rate, they'll have knocked out every guard in Vacuo." Silver muttered as he pulled the car to the gate of the holding house. The guard there stepped out, only to be whacked across the back of the head and dragged back inside the security booth by Sun, who grinned and raised the bar gate before leaping off to find more guards.

"You're telling me." Yang and Silver got out and walked to the heavily-armored doors. They found the two guards there, both on the floor to the sides, their key cards already in the slots. He merely pushed open the door, and it swung open.

They were hit by a blast of warm air as they entered the armory. Large anvils, ovens and weapon workstations all laid out before him, with racks and shelves full of weapons from swords to batons to machine guns to explosive rocket launchers.

"Damn…" Silver looked around, picking up a scope from a table. "Awesome! Magnum would need this."

Yang groaned. "Don't tell me you're turning into Ruby."

He was about to retort when he spotted him. Herman Vulcan was sitting in a chair in the corner.

Tied up.

With an open incinerator behind him.

He stepped forward with Yang but stopped as they reached him. He took in the chains, before turning as two sentry guns suddenly lowered from the ceiling and aimed at them. "This was a trap." Silver realized. "They knew we would come tonight!"

"That's right…"

Yang cocked her gauntlets and Silver leveled his pistols as a figure walked out from behind the incinerator.

She wasn't Bronze, but she was wearing armor that was almost identical to Silver's and Bronze's, except that it was in a light blue shade, like a diamond. On her back was a large assault rifle and grenade launcher, both diamond-encrusted.

Silver didn't lower his guns. "Do I know you?"

Without answering, she raised her hand, and there was a thump as something latched onto Silver's armor. He suddenly gasped as the armor clamped shut, locking him in place.

"You see… I wasn't sent here to kill you." The diamond armored woman then turned to Yang, who glared at her. "I'm here for _you_ …"

"Aww, am I that special?" Yang playing it off that her boyfriend was currently trapped, but she didn't want to show that she was angry at that. "Must admit, not exactly the best when it comes to welcoming parties. Woulda liked a simple cake and balloons."

The woman chuckled. "A party girl, hmm? And I must add, not a bad looker."

Yang chuckled and removed the helmet, tossing her hair. "I try my best."

The woman took off her own helmet. Brown-blond hair fell down, with bright blue eyes staring back at Yang's lilac eyes. Even Yang had to admit, she looked good, almost on par with herself. And her figure under the armor would be tough to beat.

"When I saw you at first, well… I must admit, I like your look." She shrugged. "But, well, when Bronze says that you're prettier than me, that's when I step in."

"Mighty big ego, huh?" Yang rolled her eyes. "Sorry, girl. But I'm so much more than you."

She scoffed. "Well, really? How about we settle it here and now?"

Yang looked to Silver, who still couldn't move. "Then let my boyfriend go."

The woman reared back her head and laughed. "Oh my god! _Boyfriend_? Girl, do you not know who you're looking at?"

"Yang…" Silver was still struggling to move. "I know her."

"Tell me who she is then, so I can carve her name on her gravestone." Yang stepped forwards.

"Just… She's…" He sighed. "She's a friend of mine from… before."

Yang turned to him. "But didn't you say everyone died?"

The woman laughed again. "Puh-lease! You think he and his sister were the only ones? Kinda hard to believe."

"Her name is Diana." Silver gave up in trying to move. "She was one of my best friends before… the incident."

Diana smiled. "Of course. We practically grew up together. He was like a brother to me."

"So… shouldn't you be supporting him?" Yang asked.

"Well, to be honest, I still kinda do. The whole incident didn't really affect me since my father made it out alive with me. Besides, we had so many plans for the future." She said the last part in a flirty way that made Silver blush.

"A-about that…" He coughed. "She'd… well, we had been thinking, at the time, of-"

"Pursuing a relationship!" Diana grinned, before suddenly pulling out two tomahawks and twirling them in her hands. "And I'm willing to fight for him."

Yang's grin faltered slightly before she raised her fists. "You'll have to get past me first."

"He's worth fighting for." She took another look at him and licked her lips. "I must add, very nice figure there, Silvester. I'd sure like to get to know it more~."

"Alright, that enough!" Yang felt a vein bulge as she got angrier. "You want to fight now, or keep indulging in your fake fantasies?"

"Fine. If you win, I'll let you go. If not, well… I know I'll be having a lot of fun."

She and Yang remained still before both charged forwards.

* * *

"You have a lot of girls fighting for you, huh?"

Silver sighed as Herman Vulcan turned to him. "You wouldn't know the half of it."

He chuckled. He was very muscular with a leather apron, hair and a large beard that was just beginning to show gray. "Let's hope your blond girlfriend can beat her. Or it's both of us facing the ax, so to speak."

A tomahawk thudded into the incinerator between them, and Silver chuckled slightly at the irony. "It's fine. Although I hope it ends soon. This isn't exactly the most comfortable position, and the incinerator doesn't help."

"Not much I can do." He shrugged as best as he could from the ropes and chains.

"So… who do you think is going to win?" Silver broke the silence.

He shrugged, watching the fight. "I'd say the diamond girl."

"Ok, I bet Yang does, she's got this."

"Loser buys a round after this?"

"You're on."


	34. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

 **A/N: Sorry for the slow uploads, but personal issues and events have made writing hard, as well as working on my other story, FRAGMENTS OF REMNANT, a Red Vs. Blue and RWBY crossover, which seems to be going very well, actually. So for now, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Team JNPR arrived in Mistral the day before and were now waiting for Qrow and Neptune to arrive. It had been decided that they would join them for the mission, with Weiss and Ruby staying behind in Atlas to look after Whitely.

Neptune, Weiss, and Qrow had called them, but Ruby had been unusually silent. Qrow explained what had happened, and the fact that she blamed herself for what happened to Whitely.

Ruby Rose wasn't there when Qrow and Neptune arrived.

"She's… having it tough." Qrow pulled them all to the side. "What happened to Whitely knocked her out of it. She's staying behind to look after him."

They all nodded before Jaune spoke up. "So are we ready?"

"Ready as we'll ever be," Neptune replied.

* * *

The situation in Mistal was different. There wasn't active fighting in the kingdom, but there was tension. After all, large areas of the continent were gone, cut off by the new borders.

The government was doing its best to settle the new conflict peacefully, but the Mistral military had been mobilized. This hurt Ren and Nora, being natives from the kingdom, seeing their home like this. There was an air of desperation and fear in the air of the capital constantly.

They boarded a bullhead that would drop them off near the mine. Luckily, border security was almost nonexistent, with most forces only gathering at the roads and settlements. There were enormous stretches of land and mountain ranges that were empty as the bullhead soared through the sky, making full use of the lack of Grimm.

Eventually, the pilot dropped them off. "The road at the edge of this clearing leads right to the settlement." The copilot informed them as they gathered their items and jumped off. "Just radio back once you're finished, we'll be on standby twenty-four seven."

"Thanks." Qrow waved, and the copilot saluted as the bullhead pulled up and away, disappearing behind the valley walls. Qrow then turned to the others. "Let's go then."

Qrow led them through the trees and bushes to the road, and they made their way down. Jaune fell into step with Neptune.

"Are the others alright?" He asked. Neptune didn't answer immediately.

"Weiss is worried. I mean, Whitely lost consciousness from blood loss. Had he not been rescued sooner, he may have died. Winter is absolutely _pissed_ at Ruby, and she blames her for what happened. I think the only thing stopping her is that Weiss is there to stop her." Neptune shuddered. "Seriously, Winter almost froze my nuts to the floor when I tried to explain what happened."

Jaune shuddered, the mental image of an older Weiss, pissed off at him and freezing his… came to mind.

"But is Ruby…?"

Neptune shrugged. "She's in the same state from when Silver almost died, except it's worse. She's lost sleep and doesn't eat as much… Even when Whitely talked to her, she still believes she could have done something."

Jaune fell silent. "I can't imagine her like that…"

"Trust me, it's not something you want to see."

At that moment, Qrow held up a hand, before walking to the side. "Check it out."

They followed him and looked down. On the side of the road was a small ditch, and in that ditch was a metal pipe. Qrow reached down and pulled open a small panel on the side, revealing several wires.

"This must be the power to the base," Qrow muttered. He then grinned. "I have an idea…"

Jaune looked at him. "Are you suggesting…?"

"Never thought I'd have to get into uniform again…"

* * *

The jeep arrived, and two technicians jumped out and walked to the cable.

"Ok, I've found it." The first one crouched down. It revealed the metal pipe, from which a panel had been torn away, and the wired completely clawed off.

"Looks like an animal managed to get through and severed the wires." The first one sighed.

"What kind of monster makes these kinds of slashes?" The second pointed to a _scratch_ , which was incredibly clean and straight.

"Grimm?"

"...meh, sure, why not?"

The second turned to get the toolbox, but a black aura surrounded both their chest-plates. They were suddenly pulled very hard and violently towards each other, slamming straight into each other with such force they were knocked out.

"Good job, Pyrrha!" Nora cheered as the six huntsmen and huntresses emerged from the bushes. Qrow, Ren, Jaune, and Neptune immediately carried away the soldiers to the jeep while Nora grabbed their guns.

"Sorry…" Pyrrha whispered to the guards as they were carried past her. Jaune smiled and patted her shoulder on the way past.

* * *

"Aaand done!"

Jaune put on the cap over his head and was glad it was just his size. Qrow also finished tightening his chest plate.

"You do realize how stupid that was." Ren shook his head. "The chances that these guards would be wearing the right size. Jaune, what size are you?"

"Large." He replied.

"Exactly. What if they were medium, or extra large? We'd be seen right through, and… wait, large?" Ren turned to Jaune.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." He shrugged.

"C'mon." Qrow placed the guard in the back of the jeep before heading to the driver side door. "Let's go."

* * *

While the mine was open with no walls, unusual for such a place, there was a small settlement nearby in the safety of it's guarded walls. Qrow and Jaune walked right through to the mine, passing several soldiers and stopping to let a Steel mech pass by.

"Hope we don't have to fight those." Jaune shuddered as he eyed the enormous gatling gun on its right arm.

Qrow just looked around, eyes narrowed as he surveyed the area. "Two sniper towers… looks like the guards have no set patrol pattern."

Jaune nodded. There were at least two dozen soldiers just walking around the perimeter, with another dozen seemingly scattered around the area. Several miners were wheeling out carts filled with dust and rocks to be dumped, while a Steel mech lifted a large container and started walking to the town.

"So we need to find bronze here…" Jaune looked around, trying to see inside the carts from the mine.

"Ahem…"

Qrow pointed, and Jaune looked over his shoulder to see an enormous container with the words **Bronze Metal** written with black paint on the side.

"Ah…" He sighed, before looking over it. "How exactly do we get it?"

"We need one of those things." Qrow nodded to the mech, which was now returning from the town and was reaching to grab another container.

"How?"

He gestured to the mech. "That mech is more than capable of carrying this, and it's piloted. We need a way to convince the pilot to help."

At that moment, a horn sounded. " _Alright, people. Lunch break's started, head to the canteen."_ a bored voice announced from the speakers.

All the soldiers and miners headed to a large tent to the side of the mine. Qrow and Jaune ducked behind the container and watched as the mech pulled to a stop. A panel on the back opened and a female pilot climbed out.

"Hmm… I think I've got an idea." Qrow grinned.

"What? Again?"

"You see the pilot? Couldn't be older than you. Go talk to her."

Jaune stared at the teenage pilot before him. "Why?"

"Just do so, convince her you're new and that you want to see the mech."

"Um… sure?" He then shouldered the rifle and headed to the canteen, nervous.

Qrow knew that the kid was the kind to easily make friends, often without knowing. He'd unconsciously gained himself a few followers, so he hoped that it would work.

* * *

"It's been half an hour…" Nora complained. "What's taking them so long?"

Ren, Neptune, Nora, and Pyrrha laid in the bushes on the edge of the compound. They still saw Qrow hanging by the mech, but Jaune had entered the canteen and hadn't come out for a long time.

"Qrow isn't worried, so Jaune should be fine," Ren said, cleaning Stormflower to pass the time.

Pyrrha was nervous, as was Neptune, but they then stopped when they heard voices.

They watched as Jaune walked out with another person, a woman. She had long brown hair and had a brown fluffy dog's tail. She was laughing as Jaune told her a joke.

"So do we get to see the mech?" He asked, excitement in his voice as they walked past.

The faunus laughed. "Jeez, you're two months older than me and yet you act like a little kid! Why should I?"

"Well, you're a cool person, Janette, and I really want to see how this works!"

Janette giggled, blushing a bit. "Fine, I'll show you. You really know how to convince a girl, huh?"

Jaune laughed and scratched the back of his head as they approached the mech. "Not really, I'm just a regular guy."

There was a bit of a scuffle and Ren and Neptune turned to see Nora holding back Pyrrha, who obviously was trying to use her semblance on the faunus pilot's metal chest piece. She had a black aura surrounding her and her eyes glowed slightly red behind her hair, which had fallen forward to cover her face in a shadow.

"Jeez, you don't mess with a woman's man, huh?" Neptune asked as he and Ren shifted away.

"Yes, I do believe that's how the saying goes." Ren watched Stormflower in front of him being dragged towards Pyrrha as he semblance began to take effect.

Neptune felt the goggles on his head and his weapon both feel the tug. "Remind me to never try with Jaune."

"Sure… wait, are you-?"

"No, that was just a joke."

Suddenly, Stormflower was ripped from the ground in front of Ren as were Neptune's weapon and goggles. They heard a clunk as his weapon struck Pyrrha in the head, dazing her.

"Ok, P-money. Snap out of it." Neptune grabbed his goggles and put them on before restyling his hair.

Pyrrha continued to glare at the Faunus as she helped Jaune climb into the mech. "I hope we end up having to knock her out." She spoke through gritted teeth.

"You're joking, right?" Nora laughed.

The glare they got sent all three into silence, before looking back at them, watching.


	35. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

* * *

Yang knew she had a hard fight ahead of her.

Diana could have been able to use her assault rifle or grenade launcher, but, well, she obviously wanted to prove a point.

So Yang found herself dodging a tomahawk that was thrown at her, before leaping back as she started swinging.

She started flipping back as Diana swung until Yang kicked out and knocked a tomahawk out of her hand before repeatedly punching her. Using the other ax, Diana blocked or deflected her punches. Her low punch caught, elbow jab knocked back, a high kick was ducked.

Diana suddenly launched herself forward and shoulder-charged her, but as she brought the ax down Yang activated a gauntlet and caught it, before sending a two-footed kick into her stomach.

She pulled out the tomahawk from Ember Celica before loading them and launching several shotgun blasts forward. Diana landed on her feet and quickly dodged all of the blasts.

"Are you even trying?" She taunted as she pulled out more Tomahawks from her belt.

Yang leaped forward and repeatedly swung around, striking her with her fists. "Just warming up!"

Yang suddenly had her legs kicked out from under her before Diana used the back of her tomahawk to smash her in the back, sending her to the floor. Yang rolled out of the way of Diana's tomahawks slicing into the ground.

Yang felt her semblance beginning to work. She started striking more powerful hits. Diana obviously noticed, but she doubled her ferocity.

"Yang!" Silver called out. "Use something to get extra reach!"

She jumped over a table and looked around quickly, grabbing two short swords from the table and swinging them upwards, blocking a tomahawk sent to her.

Diana was surprised, but she merely grinned. "Well, this is exciting."

Yang tested the swords in her hands. The blades were only a bit more than a foot long, but they were light and strong. "Only fair."

They charged again.

* * *

"Right, let's see…" the guard checked the power boxes on the side of the facility. "Wiring, check. Circuits, check. Power gauges, check. Alarms-"

"Check!"

A staff smacked onto the back of his head, knocking him out. Sun stood over him, grinning as he put away his weapon.

Blake sighed as she landed next to him. "Was that necessary?"

"Saw that in a movie, always wanted to try that. Right… fourth box on the left…" He grabbed the box and opened it, revealing several wires, screws, and a very large knife-switch.

"Simple!" He grabbed the switch and flipped it with a clunk. "Right, now we just have to-"

Suddenly, Blake's weapon flew past his head and struck a guard in the face, who'd just walked up the stairs.

"You're welcome." Blake caught her weapon as the ribbon she used pulled it back.

The guard, instead of falling back, stumbled to the side. Sun and Blake both leaped forward to catch him, but he fell over the edge of the wall.

They watched in horror as the man crashed onto the top of a large tent, making a large hole. And inside were several more guards on several bunks, whom all woke up as their comrade hit the floor.

"Yeah, thanks for that," Sun replied sarcastically as he leaped down into the tent and started attacking the guards, nunchucks swinging.

Blake facepalmed, before jumping after him.

* * *

Yang jumped over a table as Diana's tomahawks smashed onto it, chopping it in half.

"That armor…" Yang ducked as another Tomahawk sailed through the air at her. "I think Silver mentioned someone wearing it before."

Diana launched herself over the table and struck out, with Yang blocking the strikes with her swords. "It belonged to my mother, went by the name of Diamond. She perished in the explosion years ago."

"I'm sorry." Yang thought about her own mother disappearing - and leaped to the side as Diana slashed down. She kicked out and caught her, sending her crashing and knocking over several tool boxes, the noise unbelievably loud.

"I don't mind, really." She got up and pulled yet another tomahawk to compensate for the one she threw. "She never really treated me right, but still, I at least wish I had a body to bury."

"What?"

"Bronze, when she got this armor, she literally stripped it off and threw her body back into the sea."

Yang stared at her. "That's… horrible! And you work for her?! What the hell?!"

Diana sprinted forward and smashed the blades of her weapons onto hers, pushing her down to her knees. "What else am I supposed to fight for?"

"Join us!" Yang struggled against Diana, who was leaning in now, pushing her weight onto her weapons. "We can fight Bronze! We can get revenge for your mother, and all those who she's hurt!"

Yang jumped back suddenly, allowing Diana to fall forward before she jumped on her and pinning her to the floor and getting her in an arm lock.

"You don't have to work for the bad guys anymore." Yang gritted her teeth, holding Diana's arm in place as she struggled to get it free. "I'm sorry for what happened, but we can make her pay for what she's done. She's a horrible, evil woman who deserves to burn in hell."

"That we can agree on." Diana slumped over, defeated.

"Looks like you owe me one." Silver grinned.

"Fine," Vulcan grumbled.

The two women glared at them. "Seriously?"

"What?" Silver, if he could move, would have shrugged. "Not much we can do, as you can see."

"Boys." Yang rolled her eyes, before turning back to Diana. "So can we trust you?"

"I said I would join you if you win." She shrugged. "I don't back down on my promises."

"It's true." Silver spoke up. "Diana's loyalties are questionable, but she does keep her promises."

Yang reluctantly let go of her, and Diana stood up. She removed her helmet before grinning. "Looks like you win."

"You're not so bad yourself." Yang shrugged. "Could use a little work, though."

They went and freed Silver and Herman Vulcan, the latter whom glared at Diana.

"No hard feelings, old man." Diana offered her hand. "Your Tomahawks are top notch, by the way."

He smiled after a while and shook her hand. "Just get me out of here."

"Blake, Sun?" Silver called on his radio as they headed for the door. "We've got the package, where are you?"

" _A tad bit… busy!"_ There were the sounds of punching on Sun's radio. " _Ow! That hurt! We've got the alarms, but we've alerted every guard in this sector! Could use a little help! Blake, watch out for the mech!"_

Silver sighed. "They had one job. Right, Diana, you come with me. Yang, you stay here and guard Herman."

"I can fight!" She protested.

"I know." He hugged her. "But you need to recover from the fight. And I don't want you getting hurt. Besides, we can't leave Vulcan with Diana, it's still too early to trust her completely."

"Fine." Yang sighed, before smiling. "Who did you bet would win?"

"You, of course." He grinned, before stepping to the door. With Diana, they both ran to the sounds of fighting.

"So you didn't vote for me?" Yang turned to the blacksmith, who chuckled nervously.

"Nah, just figured I'd owe you one, you know?"

"Hmm…?" She hummed, eyes red before she grinned. "I'll make sure to order everything in the bar."

"I don't even have that much." Herman groaned, already feeling his wallet paying the price, so to speak.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Silver poked his head through the door. "Alright, you two can come out now."

Yang and Herman came out and were shocked at what they saw. Literally, hundreds of guards were scattered across the base in varied states of consciousness. What was more shocking were the many destroyed jeeps, flipped tanks and collapsed mechs that littered the area. And somehow the main base was unalerted, no alarms were raised.

Yang sighed and walked towards Blake and Sun, who were both sitting on the ground, exhausted. "So what's up?"

"She… knocked over… a guard… right into… their tent…" Sun gasped out as he fell back flat on his back. He pulled off the beanie soaked with his own sweat off his head. "So… who's the chick…?"

Yang turned and narrowed her eyes at Diana, who was now talking with Silver. "Assistant to Bronze gone rogue."

"And you trust her?" Blake stared at Yang. "Are you crazy?"

"Look, Silver says we can trust her. I'm willing to believe him. And we've got the package."

The two Faunus looked up to see Herman Vulcan, who nodded to them. "Hello."

"Dude. You owe me a new weapon." He held up Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang in nunchuck form. It was dented in just about every spot, the gun mechanisms for both had been broken, and it had completely lost its shine, with the paint being scratched off from striking so many guards.

Balke's Gambol Shroud wasn't faring any better, with the ribbon of her weapon actually having been cut in half, her sheath bent down the middle and the gun barrel had melted from firing so many rounds. Not to mention her blade was chipped and worn.

"You had one job." Yang deadpanned, shaking her head as she looked around. She quickly sent a kick to a guard who was getting up, knocking him out again. "And even then you didn't do a good job."

"Shut up." Blake snapped, although she couldn't get up, she was so tired. Her clothes were torn, and there were several bullet holes in her clothes, thankfully stopped by her aura, and she was also soaked in sweat. "Let's get out of here."

Sun didn't look much better, but he simply stood up and picked up Blake. She didn't complain, she just let it happen.

As they headed to the gate, the friendly guard poked his head out from the guard booth, eyes wide. "Are you serious? This was your idea of a stealth mission?"

"We had to improvise." Sun shrugged as they passed, heading to the two guides who had similar expressions on their faces.

He shook his head. "You're all crazy…"

"It's how we roll."

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the seemingly boring fight, but I've got an announcement to make. From now on, uploads WILL be longer, and I might introduce them weekly instead. Just a lot of personal issues and writer's block, as well as many family trips and such as we're almost at the end of the summer holiday. So sorry for this announcement, leave a review about the story, and until next time, peace out!**


	36. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

 **A/N: School starts tomorrow. Summer's officially over. Repent, REPENT! Because of this, updates might not be expected as I get used to the classes and homework of 10th grade. I hope you understand why. So for those who are going back to school, good luck. And for those who don't have to go... you are lucky bastards!**

 **So leave a review on what you think will happen next in the story. Which characters do you want to reappear? And in what way? Also, any feedback on the story so far would be greatly appretiated.**

 **For now, though, ignore my rambling if you already haven't skipped this and just start reading! Enjoy!**

* * *

The mech was incredibly complicated, yet Janette operated it with ease, knowing just which buttons to press at which moments, which levers to pull and other complicated stuff. The arms worked by putting on special gloves, and in response to the hand movements, the mech's own arms would move accordingly.

So Jaune just sat on the second seat and kept his hands to himself, worried after Janette told him he was in the gunner's seat. She was giving him a rundown of the mech, and he found himself genuinely interested in the works behind it.

"So can it lift that?" Jaune asked innocently, pointing to the container with the bronze they were trying to get.

"Easy. Wanna see?"

"Sure!" He responded, extremely pleased with how it was going so far as he accepted the gloves and pulled them on.

The mech marched to the container, before reaching out with two hands and picking it up with ease. Jaune was impressed as he inspected the shipping container. "How much would this weigh?"

Janette checked on a screen. "Twenty-seven tons. Yep, this thing is heavy."

Jaune sweated from the weight. No way Pyrrha would be lifting that, so there went that plan. "Could I try walking around?"

"Sure." Janette allowed him to take the secondary foot controls from his seat. It consisted of a special treadmill that would allow him to control movement when he stood up from the seat, which folded when he took control. Jaune let the mech take a few steps, before spinning around slowly, being held in place in the cockpit by the seat straps behind him.

"This is actually kinda easy." Jaune took the mech to another walk. "Could we try without the container?"

Janette let him drop the container, and they continued piloting around. He now allowed himself to pilot the mech and enjoy the experience.

* * *

Qrow whistled. "Jaune, you lucky son of a…"

Somehow, Jaune had managed to get Janette to carry not only the bronze filled shipping container but place it on the back of a flatbed truck, without her realizing it. How he was capable was beyond him.

Now all he had to do was find a truck…

He quickly tried to find one and found a guard smoking next to a trailer truck. He walked forward with confidence. "Hey, I'm going to need this truck for a bit of work."

The man looked up. He had graying black hair and a thick mustache. "What for?"

"Need that trailer shipped tonight," Qrow explained. "A special order, I was sent right here."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Really? Alright, well, let me just grab the keys."

Qrow grinned as the man opened the door and reached inside.

It then faltered when he found himself staring down the barrel of a shotgun, which the soldier pumped, loading a shot in.

"Imposter. One, if you were sent to get the trailer, you'd have brought your own truck or produced me with paperwork. Second, you're wearing private Jimmy's uniform, and he went out with the captain in the same jeep you arrived in. And third, you _reek_ of alcohol. And that is a big no in the military. So hands up!"

Qrow cursed to himself as he slowly raised his hands. But as they went level with the weapon, he ducked to the side and grabbed the gun, pushing it upwards.

The man fired the gun into the air as they wrestled with it. He kicked him in the stomach with his knee, and Qrow responded by headbutting him.

He then flung the soldier over his shoulder, and the shotgun flew up into the air and clattered onto the roof of the truck.

Qrow and the man glared at each other until the man whipped out a knife and ran at him, yelling. Qrow dodged at the last second and slammed a fist into his back, and he tripped and smashed into the truck, knocking himself out. But at the same time, he triggered the alarm of the truck.

Qrow scrambled to silence it and did so, but afterward, he realized how futile it was. If the alarm didn't attract the other soldiers, then the gunshot did. And sure enough, he heard yelling as the soldiers raised the alarm.

"I hate my life…" He quickly dashed to the bushes, where Neptune and Ren stood up and handed him his weapon. "So, plan B. We knock out every guard and make our way out of here."

Neptune sighed. "Again? Qrow, does your semblance happen to be bad luck? Because you REALLY need to learn to control it."

Qrow felt a vein bulge on his head. "Ha ha, very funny. Now shut up, and start shooting!" He quickly turned and fired a round at a red barrel, and it exploded, sending two soldiers flying and hitting the ground, knocked out. "Let's go!"

* * *

Nora and Pyrrha rushed out to find Jaune, while Ren and Neptune ran with Qrow to take out the soldiers.

"What's going on?!"

The radio had burst into life as the commanding officer called Janette and Jaune over the radio.

" _All units, we have a number of intruders in the base, repeat, we have intruders in the base, most likely Huntsmen. Take them out now, all units scramble immediately!"_

"Roger, what do we do?" Janette replied into the radio.

" _Get the mech over to the entrance and take them out! Use the Gatling guns, we don't want to lose anyone!"_

"Yes, sir!" Janette closed the radio and turned to Jaune, face grim. "You ready? I'm gonna take control, you man the guns, they're relatively simple to use."

"S-sure! Just-"

The entire mech suddenly jerked to the side as something impacted it.

"What was that?!"

Jaune then vaguely heard the sound of a grenade launcher going off, and sighed. "Just hold on!"

* * *

"DIE YOU EVIL PIECE OF METAL!" Nora cried as she sailed into the air before bringing down her hammers straight onto the top of the mech. It completely dented it and sent it reeling.

Pyrrha used her semblance to keep the guns aimed away from Nora as she landed on the ground and now swung at the mech's legs. One hit, and it cracked. Two, and sparks flew from the loose panels.

The third strike completely severed the leg and it collapsed. Pyrrha rushed forward and flung open the hatch before aiming her rifle into the cockpit. "Hands up!"

Jaune and Janette both crawled out, the latter whom stared at her in fear.

Pyrrha pretended that she didn't know Jaune as she grabbed his weapons off of him. "Any funny moves, and I shoot. Nora, you alright?"

Nora grinned as she switched Magnhild back into grenade form. "Ooh, ooh, do we get to break her legs?"

Janette stared at Pyrrha before her eyes widened. "Are you… Pyrrha Nikos?"

Pyrrha hid her shock from being recognized. "What's it matter to you?"

She smiled despite the rifle aimed at her. "I'm a huge fan. We met two years ago when you started your career, remember? At the local Mistral huntsmen competition?"

"You… I remember you. You said you wanted to be a huntress as well, right?" Pyrrha then smiled a bit. "Yeah, I remember you."

"So what's the invincible girl doing here?"

Pyrrha sighed. "Just… doing my job. Jaune?"

Jaune lowered his hands. "Sorry, Janette. I couldn't tell you, of course."

She shook her head. "Man. This is completely crazy."

"Tell me about it." Jaune sighed. Gunfire erupted from the other side of the mine, and Jaune turned to it. "C'mon, Nora, let's go."

They both ran to the battle, leaving Pyrrha with Janette, who sighed and sat down next to the destroyed mech. "You should go help your friends, I'll stay here."

"Can I trust you?"

She grinned and knocked on the mech behind her. "Does it look like I'm in any condition to fight?"

Pyrrha nodded, before extending a hand. Janette shook it.

"Oh, by the way, he's taken."

Janette raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Pyrrha grinned before rushing to the fight. Janette just stared at her, before shrugging and leaning back and humming to herself. ' _Nothing else to do, I suppose…'_

* * *

Qrow gritted his teeth as he dived behind a crate, letting it absorb the bullets from three assault rifles firing at him. Crowd control was never his strong suit.

He waited for a pause in the fire before leaping out and firing a shot from his weapon. It hit the ground between the three soldiers and sent them reeling. He charged forwards and smashed the first one with the flat of his blade, before spinning and kicking the second one to the leg. There was a crack and a scream as he stumbled back, leg bent at an odd angle at the knee joint.

Qrow ducked as the third swung the butt of his rifle at him, but he merely headbutted him, sending him to the ground. He then turned to the soldier who was clutching his broken leg as he groaned in pain. "Sorry, kid. It's for a good cause."

He smashed the handle of his sword on his head, knocking him out.

Qrow then brought up the blade and blocked several bullets, before diving behind another container again. "Damn it!"

He stabbed his weapon into the ground and prepared to run out when he heard several shrill whistles followed by explosions. A soldier flew through the air and landed on the ground next to him, groaning. His clothes were stained with pink powder.

"Looks like the cavalry's here," Qrow muttered. He stepped out only to duck as two soldiers were smacked straight at him.

"Sorry!" Nora called out before she swung her hammer and caught another guard, knocking him into several others like bowling pins. "Hole in one!"

"Nora, focus, please!" Neptune shocked a soldier with his staff before swinging around and letting loose on an armored jeep with his rifle as it drove past them, as did Ren. Pyrrha used her semblance to tip it over, sending their occupants flying out.

"What do we do?!" Neptune yelled, panicked.

"Don't worry, I've called the bullhead. They'll be able to take the container with us." Qrow's eyes widened. "Wait… why didn't we do that in the first place?!"

"This is way more fun!" Nora cheered before she switched her weapon to grenade form and let loose into the sky, sending the pink grenades in a high arc before landing behind a stack of containers. The screams as they landed meant they hit their targets. "Nailed it~!"

"When will the bullhead be here?" Pyrrha yelled as she shield-bashed a soldier who attacked with a metal baton. She then kicked his legs from under him and a smash to his forehead with his stolen baton knocked him out.

"A few minutes," Qrow replied, before blocking a sniper shot from the distance. Ren ran towards the sniper, twin SMGs blazing as he weaved between the shots, no doubt remembering his fight in the Vytal Festival. Jaune and Pyrrha blocked off several shots with their shields as they grabbed Nora and ran to cover.

Neptune raised his own rifle and let off a few shots. "Ok, we should be good-" His eyes widened. "QROW! WATCH OUT!"

Qrow turned to the side, where he saw a soldier leveling a rocket launcher at him. He recognized it as an airburst model, specifically designed to take down individuals and not armor. "Shit!"

The soldier fired, but Neptune sprinted forwards, trident out and intending to block it.

"NEPTUNE, DON'T!" Qrow yelled. But it was too late.

Neptune swung and caught the rocket, expecting a small bang that his aura could handle. Instead, an enormous explosion resonated that deafened and disoriented everyone and sent him flying, before bouncing and rolling to a stop.

He didn't get back up.


	37. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

* * *

Upon returning to the rebel base, Silver, Yang, Blake, and Sun were all greeted with cheers and celebration upon their return. All the fighters gathered around them and started celebrating on their first real victory in the region.

The leader walked up to them and smiled as she shook their hands. "I think I speak for all of us when I say… thank you."

Silver grinned and scratched the back of his head, ears twitching. "Ah, it was nothing. And hey, we got Herman right here."

She then walked forward and shook hands with the blacksmith. "It's good to see you in one piece."

He chuckled. "It's so good to be outside. I'll admit, I love weapons and forges, but it's nice once in awhile to go outside and smell the fresh air."

"We'll have a truck ready to take you out here tonight, so I'd suggest you rest up." She grinned to all of them. "After all, we've got a lot of celebrating to do."

"Ah, why not?" Yang grinned, before nudging Diana. "You wanna party?"

She rolled her eyes. She'd gotten rid of her armor and was simply dressed in a white shirt and jeans, courtesy of Yang prior to entering the camp.

"I'm sorry, who is this?"

"An old friend." Silver lightly pushed Diana forwards. "She helped us in the intrusion."

Blake was about to interrupt when Sun placed a hand over her mouth. She blushed and pushed it away, scowling.

"It's good to meet you. You can call me General V." She shook Diana's hand, who smiled and nodded in greeting, albeit a bit nervously.

"Right, I'm gonna lie down on my bunk and I'm gonna sleep for the next fifteen hours." Sun yawned and headed to his bunk.

"I'm going to do the same." Silver stretched and headed after him, leaving Yang, Blake, and Diana to tell them the story of what happened.

As they headed through the camp, Sun massaged his sore legs. "Man, that sucked. So, what do you think we should do first? Sleep, or shower? Because to be honest, we don't exactly smell too good."

Silver sniffed his shirt, wincing. "Yeah, you're right."

They diverted to the shower tent, which was using water from a conveniently-placed abandoned water pipe which was still flowing.

Silver allowed Sun to run ahead to the toilets next to it and sighed as he looked up at the stars as they slowly started to dim as the sun got closer to the horizon.

He didn't notice Sun get dragged behind a tent as he walked past into the showers.

* * *

"Soo…" Sun swallowed. "What's up?"

He found himself in the shadow of a tent with a blood-red blade pressed against his throat. A man calmly walked forward, not letting the blade go as he inspected Sun. He wore a Grimm mask and had red hair, and he wore black clothes that had the insignia of the White Fang.

"So this is what I've been replaced by…" He shook his head.

Sun's eyes narrowed. "Adam Taurus, I presume?"

"At your service. Or rather…" He pressed the blade deeper. "At your demise."

A single drop of blood ran down Sun's neck as the blade pierced through his aura without difficulty. Sun winced but kept talking. "So you're Blake's psycho ex-boyfriend? Figures why she left you."

"Keep talking. I dare you."

"Gladly. You're a monster, no better than the Grimm. You think you're fighting for us, for the Faunus, but in reality, you're doing more harm than good." He spat. "I know that things were hard for you, and for others out there, including me. But that does not mean you can kill every human out there. Some of them are good people."

"And others are bad." Adam leaned forwards, his eyes hidden behind the mask. "And I seek to purge them all."

"So how am I on this list?" Sun asked as the drop of blood ran down his chest. "You do know I've got a tail, right?"

Adam chuckled. "Yes, which is why I'm going to offer you a chance. Where is the Schnee?"

Sun stared at him, before realizing. He meant Weiss. "Which one? You know, the big boss in Atlas, or-"

The blade dug deeper, and Sun winced in pain as more blood flowed down his chest. "A single push will be enough to sever at least two arteries before you can react. Even if you get away from my blade afterward, you'll lose blood too quickly for anyone to save you. So I suggest you cooperate. But then again, maybe Blake will know more…"

Sun started to panic when he realized what he was planning. "Don't you dare!"

"She ran. She left all of us behind. She left me behind. And for no reason, no prior warning or planning." He spat. "She deserves to know the pain I felt when she ran away like the coward she is!"

"She isn't. She ran because she saw what you became." Sun shot back. "She told me why she left."

"Then tell me, if she trusts you so much."

"It wasn't her. It was you. YOU changed. When she grew up with you, she saw you as strong, as a fighter, as an avenger. You helped those who fell, you protested peacefully with the others, and she was there with you at each and every one.

"That was who she fell in love with. Not this. Not a monster. You changed so suddenly. You became more bloodthirsty, crueler. And she followed you because she believed you were still the same man. But soon her feelings towards you ran dry from what you did. She was heart-broken, depressed."

Sun closed his eyes. "That's why I approached her at first. Because I knew she had a story. And boy, what a story she gave me. So I wanted to cheer her up, make her happy, and prove that she could do better with her life than with YOU."

Adam just glared at him from his mask.

"Blake's happy. She has friends, a family who took her in, who believe her, who trust her, who LOVE her for who she is, not what she is, and not for her skill." His eyes snapped open. "And I won't let you take her away from us!"

Adam Taurus didn't move for a long time. But then, he sighed and pulled back the blade before sheathing it.

"I was clinging to false hope that she would be safe with me." He spoke as he released the sword grip and let his hand fall to his side. "That she still loved me. Looks like that is not to be…"

Sun stared at him as Adam stayed silent. "Really? To be honest, I was kinda getting ready for an epic one-on-one fight to determine Blake's true boyfriend…"

Adam shook his head. "My threat still stands. Should you not give me the location of the Schnee, I WILL kill her."

"So you're serious about that?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

Sun rubbed his head. "Ugh, as if I didn't have enough on my plate already…"

"Well?" Adam let a hand rest on the grip of his sword again.

"Fine. But I need your word you won't interrupt us on our missions."

"You have my word. But I feel like you should know this. Bronze's home base is located between the borders of Vale and Mistral, on a large island known as the _Fisherman's Lighthouse,_ due to the highly active volcano which resides on it."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"The Allegiance of Steel openly supports discrimination against the Faunus, with corrupt laws and conscription for the Faunus in the military." Adam's fists clenched. "The White Fang now have a greater enemy and thus a greater target. We have been targeting high-ranking officials, cargo trains, and other such areas, and we are proving effective against them. I was originally here to barter a deal between the rebels and the White Fang."

"You? Working with humans?"

"Many are Faunus, and we share a common goal."

"For once in my life, I agree."

They stared at each other before Adam started walking away. "And remember what I said. If I don't get the Schnee, then she dies."

He then sprinted into the darkness, before scaling the wall of the crater and leaping over the edge. Sun's last sight of him was the glow of his red hair and his weapon before he disappeared.

Sun sighed. And to think he'd originally wanted to go to the toilet…

"Sun? What are you-"

He turned to see Blake staring at him. Her eyes widened and she rushed forwards. "What happened?! Who did this to you?!"

"Huh?" He looked down. The wound on his neck was already healing thanks to his now-undisturbed aura, but there was still a sizable blood trail pouring down his chest and soaking his pants. Not enough to cause harm, but a worrying amount nonetheless.

"Eh… I fell. Took me by surprise and got caught on a sharp rock. I was shocked for a bit."

She narrowed her eyes, making him swallow nervously. She reached up and wiped the blood away, but the cut was already nearly invisible. "Fine. I can't believe after what we went through, you do this to yourself after to _trip on a rock!_ "

He laughed, and Blake's glare faded. "I'm fine, see? Look, let me just shower and change and I'll be there."

Blake looked back to where she came from. The sounds of cheering and laughter were starting to rise as the party came full-swing. "Alright. Yang and Diana are having a dance-off, and they keep trying to get me to join, so…"

"So if we go together, they'll leave us alone." Sun finished, grinning. "Feel free to fall asleep on my lap."

Blake's face flushed and she punched him lightly. "Sh-shut up! Just clean up the blood already!"

"Ooh, you WANT me to be with you!"

Blake didn't answer immediately, only looked away. "J-just hurry up. I don't want to be alone."

"You've got Yang, Silver, and me here! Not to mention all of those others." He said. "Just enjoy tonight, that's all I'm asking for."

She nodded, and Sun grinned as Blake walked back to the party. He went to the toilet before heading to the shower tent. Silver walked out of a cubicle just as he entered, and he stared at him as Sun pulled off his bloody clothes.

"What the hell happened to you?"

Sun grinned as he stepped into a shower. "I tripped on a rock."

Silver shook his head. "After what we did? You trip and cut your neck with a _rock._ "

"What can I say?" He shrugged. "I have terrible luck."

Silver chuckled. "Well, you seem lucky enough when it comes to girls. Especially a certain black haired Cat-Faunus, hmm?"

"Says the guy who slept with Yang Xiao-Long on their eighteenth birthday!"

They both burst out laughing, although both their faces were red.


	38. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

* * *

"NEPTUNE!"

Jaune ran forward from his cover, using his shield to block the bullets sent his way as he grabbed Neptune off the floor and started dragging him away.

Qrow cursed loudly and immediately rushed towards the man with the rocket launcher. He reloaded it and aimed it again, but Qrow didn't give him a chance.

He leaped into the air and transformed his weapon into a scythe. The man fired at him as he raced towards him, but he merely twisted and dodged the rocket before slamming the scythe down, slicing the launcher down the middle.

The then swung and smashed the back of his blade right into the soldier's stomach, who reeled back from the pain. Qrow then used the scythe to lever himself as he kicked upwards, catching the man's face with his boot and breaking his nose. Blood poured out as the soldier fell back, unconscious.

Qrow turned to take out the rest but found Jaune, Nora, and Pyrrha taking them out. He rushed back to see Ren sitting over Neptune from the safety of a shipping container.

It didn't look good. Not at all.

Blood dripped from Neptune's ears, mouth, nose and, more worryingly, his eyes, which were unfocused. It was clear his ribs were damaged, as he was having trouble breathing. His aura was all but gone, what little that his soul was producing immediately taken by the multitude of injuries across his body. He was struggling, as it was clear each breath of air he took sent pain across his body.

"Damn it…" Qrow muttered. Neptune's word from earlier, about his semblance being bad luck, stuck with him, along with his joke to control it. "God damn it…"

"It's bad…" Ren tried to help him, allowing Neptune to lie flat on the ground and inspected him and channeled aura to his body.

"No shit it's bad! Tell me something I don't know!" Qrow snapped.

"Massive internal injuries. If we stay here, we all die." Ren snapped back with eyes that were normally unreadable filled with anger, pain, and grief. "Get the damn truck and let's get out of here!"

Qrow was taken by surprise by his outburst but nodded as he went back to the truck. The soldier from earlier was still there, but he was getting back up slowly.

He was then kicked right in the head, knocking him back out.

"I don't have time for you," Qrow muttered as he started the truck and backed it up to the trailer. It immediately clung on and Qrow drove it to the exit next to Ren.

He'd somehow managed to find wood planks and rope and was now making a fake stretcher for him. Qrow helped lift Neptune into the back of the shipping container, which luckily was both unlocked and had space inside. "Get your friends, we're leaving now!"

Ren immediately ran to get his teammates, while Qrow rushed to the cab. He found the shotgun from earlier on the ground, probably having fallen off the truck.

He picked it up just for a soldier to run at him, crying out as he charged with a bayonet at the end of his rifle. Qrow cursed and aimed, firing the shotgun.

The buckshot tore through his leg and completely severed it. He fell to the floor, screaming in pain as blood gushed from the wound.

Qrow felt sick but he swallowed as he jumped into the cab and waited. The guard continued to cry out in pain, and each one made his stomach more and queasy as he tried to tune him out.

Ren leaned out from the back and thumped on the side of the truck. "MOVE!"

Qrow stepped on the pedal and sent the truck's tires screeching as they pulled out the gate and down the road.

He allowed himself a moment of rest as they entered a long straight road. He then leaned out the open door and vomited.

* * *

"No…"

Neptune continued to gasp in pain with each breath. Pyrrha and Ren were channeling their aura through him, but they didn't know what parts to heal, as well as the fact that their aura was already low from the battle.

"C'mon, man!" Jaune clutched his friend's hand. "You can't die now! We aren't losing anyone! We haven't before, we won't now!"

"Y-yeah…" Neptune coughed, before wincing in pain. "Just… give me... a minute…"

"Don't talk," Pyrrha spoke to him. "You need to rest."

"No… If I don't… talk, then… I might not…" He coughed again. "I-I can't see. Everything's blurred…"

Jaune looked up. "How bad?"

"He'll need immediate surgery," Ren replied as he channeled aura to Neptune's chest. "Internal injuries, he may be bleeding on the inside."

Jaune looked down. Surely the blood coming from his eyes was enough to know it was serious. "How could things go so wrong…?"

"No… it didn't…" Neptune smiled despite the pain. "We did it… we've got the… bronze right here…"

They looked up and saw the piles of bronze bars, and of the crates with bronze ore. Jaune looked back down at him. "Y-yeah, but you almost died for it-"

"So… mission accomplished…" He coughed again. "We've got it… and now… you guys can… end it… once and for all."

"Dude." Jaune laughed. "Stop talking like that, you scare the crap out of me."

Neptune also chuckled, despite the movement hurting him more. "Nah, man… I'm way too… cool to die…"

"You are, man, you are."

"So… I'm not dying!" He burst out, gritting his teeth. "I'm not… going out now! I'm gonna… live, and… I'm gonna… gonna…"

His body relaxed as he lost consciousness. Jaune looked up, panicked, but Ren merely shook his head. "He's alive. He's just knocked out. We'll be able to heal him this way-"

There was an enormous clang and a jerk as the entire container suddenly was pulled upwards and started to swing.

"What's going on?!" Nora cried. "Why are we flying?"

The doors suddenly opened and Qrow swung in, grinning. "We're in the clear, and backup's right here."

Two men in Mistral military uniform followed him, albeit more professionally and with ropes. They immediately got to work with Neptune, allowing the others to step back.

Outside, they could see the ground far below them as an airship lifted them into the air via a magnetic clamp. Several other Mistralian airships floated alongside them, no doubt protecting them from potential risks.

"We did it." Qrow allowed himself to slide down and sit right on the edge before he pulled out his flask and took a swig.

Jaune sat next to him while Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren stayed with Neptune. "Qrow?"

"Hmm?"

"Did… did we do good?"

"Well…" He shrugged as he took another drink from his flask. "I wouldn't know. To some, we got the bronze and completed the mission. To others…"

Jaune cast a look back at the silent figure of Neptune. "Yeah… what do you think?"

Qrow gripped his flask until it dented slightly. "Bronze… she's going to regret ever climbing out of the hole she came from."

"You and me both." Jaune nodded.

They remained silent until Qrow held out the flask. "You picked up the habit yet?"

"Wh-what?! No!"

Qrow then shrugged and took another swig.

"Why do you even drink?"

"Why?" He chuckled. "Because of all the shit I've done, that's why. Alcohol, it's either a disease or a cure. For me, it's the latter. It lets me function because I can then forget all the crap I've done in the past that'd normally make me freeze."

"You mean… that guy missing his leg?"

Qrow reached back and pulled out the shotgun from next to his sword. "Yeah, that's something that I'll never allow myself to remember." He then reached back and flung the shotgun out, both watching as it spun towards the ground before disappearing into the trees. "Yes. I'm sorry you had to see that, kid."

"..."

Jaune didn't answer immediately. "It's fine. You were just doing your job."

"Life as a Huntsman ain't all fun and games, kid." Qrow ruffled Jaune's hair, to his displeasure. "There are more bad things than good, plenty of evil, and sometimes you have to _do_ evil to _stop_ evil."

"Like taking a life to save another…" Jaune nodded, then leaned back. "Man, this sucks!"

Qrow raised an eyebrow.

"I joined up to fight Grimm and to save people. Instead, I'm on this mission in the middle of a worldwide war, following the orders of a friend's drunk uncle, and my team. This is WAY more than I asked for when I wanted to be a hero!" He complained loudly. "And what's the deal with that rocket launcher, or those assault rifles? And that mech? I feel like everything nowadays is made to kill us! As if things weren't hard enough already!"

"Well." Qrow chuckled. "Welcome to the real world Jaune. Technology's amazing, and everybody uses it to kill each other."

"That's nice…" Jaune sighed, although he got a weird feeling when Qrow said that. "I just hope we can end this soon."

"Trust me, this is going to end, one way or another." Qrow brought the flask back up to his lips.

They watched as the terrain of Mistral below them passed by. Smoke from the battle billowed into the air, growing smaller and smaller as they flew back to safety.


	39. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

 **A/N: I'm so sorry for the late updates, but I'm still getting used to school and homework. An incoming band festival, math quizzes, and English literary essays, that kinda thing. I'll continue to keep writing as this story isn't dead, but lately, I've been practicing with a few other ideas for potential stories.**

 **Anyway, if you like this chapter, leave a review on what you think, I appreciate all feedback. But enough delay. Enjoy!**

* * *

Herman Vulcan had been taken in the night to the train and was successfully out of the territory the next morning, which was when Silver, Yang, Sun, and Blake were all scheduled to leave. Diana was busy sorting their luggage to leave.

Silver and Sun both waited outside the bathrooms, where Yang was currently vomiting into the toilet with Blake helping her.

"Did she drink at all?" Sun wondered aloud, rubbing his head. "I mean, I got pretty wasted too. Damn, my head hurts."

"That's why I don't drink." Silver sighed. "And it's not that. I made sure Yang didn't take any alcohol, which was a nightmare. Maybe it was something she ate?"

"So long as we get the hell outta here, then I'm all for it." Sun shrugged. "Thank god the resistance has painkillers. I don't think it would have done us well."

"You mean done _you_ any good?" Silver grinned and punched him lightly on the shoulder. Sun groaned from the impact, holding his head.

"Ok, I think she's fine."

They both looked up to see Blake leading Yang from the bathroom. Blake was a little pale herself from the ordeal, while Yang looked queasy and was sweating slightly.

"Are you alright?" Silver hugged her. "We can wait if you want?"

"N-No." She stammered, unusually stiff in his arms. "I-I'm fine. Sh-Shall we go?"

Silver shot a look to Blake, who shrugged. "I don't know, she's very tight-lipped about it."

"I-It's nothing, really!" Yang laughed, although it sounded forced. "Let's go back home now and plan the next step, kick some ass, am I right?"

"Ok?" He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." She nodded, hugging him closer before suddenly pulling back, eyes wide. "Um, y-yeah, let's go."

"Yang." Silver put his hands on her shoulders. "Are you sure you're fine? You're acting weird. Is it something I've done?"

She seemed to jerk at that, before shaking her head. "I-I'm serious, it's nothing… I'll tell you later, I promise."

He didn't seem content with that answer but nodded nonetheless, and they walked to the entrance of the camp, where a truck was waiting to send them to the train station, where they would sneak into the train and make their way past the border.

"What's wrong with Yang?" Sun asked Blake as they hung back a bit.

"She… well, I don't know, she won't tell me. But she did trip and hit her head on a table last night and went for a checkup. When she came out, well…" She nodded her head at Yang. "She just went back to her tent, and when I looked in she was just curled up on the bed, staring at the wall like she was scared."

"Wait, scared?"

"Yeah. It was weird."

Sun shrugged. "Hmm. Well, we had fun anyway. What did you do?"

Blake massaged her head. "Thank god for painkillers. It was a mistake accepting that drink…"

"From that fox Faunus with the yellow armor? Kaikaina or something like that?"

"Yeah."

"Man, she knew how to party." Sun whistled. "I listened to her story about how her brother was in the Steel military, and how she joined the wrong side because she's color blind and mistook their banners."

Blake giggled at that. "Really?"

"Yeah, and she seemed depressed that she's now fighting her brother, but after a couple of beers she was dancing in that tent." He grinned. "She was flexible with a capital F, she really pulled some crazy moves. Her splits were just, wow. They were enough to rival you, even."

Blake felt a funny feeling in her gut. "I take it you only talked to her?"

"Well, she and a couple of the other girls were really touchy, Ya know? I mean, we _are_ heroes!" He puffed out his chest and struck a pose while walking. "So of course we're gonna have fans, right?"

"Fans…?" Blake's voice became dangerously low. "What did they do exactly?"

Sun was oblivious to Blake's change in tone as he continued walking slightly ahead, waving his arms. "Well, some just said how awesome we were, offered me drinks and food, and chatted. A couple of others invited me to their tents for promises of a _fun time_ , if you get what I mean. Some of the drunk ones even tried to kiss me there and then, but I pushed them away. Still, crazy night!"

They arrived at the truck, just as Silver and Yang finished throwing in their luggage with Diana, who was now wearing a simple shirt and jeans. They all turned and saw Sun waving at them, smiling, while Blake had a dark shadow over her face, while her eyes twinkled dangerously, pure orbs of anger that radiated death and destruction. They recoiled from her and quickly scooted back as they boarded inside, Sun telling them about the party during the night while Blake honestly looked like she was going to kill someone, specifically the female driver, who seemed to stiffen from her gaze.

"Is she normally like this?" Diana whispered, leaning closer to Silver.

"Nope." He shook his head. "Just let her simmer down a bit."

She nodded, before leaning back. "Is this stuff normal for you?"

He chuckled. "You wouldn't know the half of it. The amount of shenanigans we had..." He sighed. "I miss the good old days, where we did nothing but fooling around."

"Life sucks." She responded, spinning a Tomahawk in her hand. "But you grow up, right? The world isn't all rainbows and roses."

"Damn straight."

* * *

Jaune sighed, the wind rushing through his hair as the ship flew over the ocean back to Vale.

"Jaune, is something wrong?"

He looked back and smiled as Pyrrha joined him at the railing as they stared at the rising sun, the sky pink and casting the ocean in the same color. "Nothing. Just… thinking about things."

She nodded, and they stood in silence as the sky slowly grew brighter. They waved as an Atlas fighter soared down next to them, and the pilot gave them a thumbs up before increasing the thrust and pulling ahead slightly. The Mistralian ship continued on it's way to Yellow Rock, where Team JNPR had taken out the Grimm prior to their mission.

"Like what?"

He laughed out loud. "Really, Pyrrha?"

"What?"

"We're fighting in a war, standing on a Mistral ship with Atlas fighters on the way to Vale protecting a bunch of metal to use against a maniacal dictator in charge of an army threatening world domination while our friends are risking their lives. I think that gives us a lot to think about."

Pyrrha laughed at that. "When you put it like that…"

They fell silent again.

"Don't you think… that sometimes, things are too much for you to handle?"

Pyrrha looked over at Jaune, and he was staring down at the rushing water. "Sorry?"

"It's just… This seems so…" He rubbed his head. "I snuck into Beacon to become a huntsman… but instead, I'm fighting in a war…"

"And you're doing fine." Pyrrha placed an arm on his shoulder. "We're still safe, and we're still going to follow you."

"What about Neptune?" He spat. "What about Whitely? What about Silver? Every time we face them, someone gets hurt. And many people are dying or dead." He nodded to another Atlas fighter which flew past them. Painted onto the sides were sixteen silhouettes of Steel fighters and fourteen of armored vehicles. "This whole deal… just, how do we end this?"

"By fighting."

They both turned to find Neptune walking up to them. He didn't look good at all, with a chest brace, and one of his legs in a cast and bandages wrapped around his body, including his head, leaving only one eye visible, the right one. But he still carried his signature grin.

"Nep? Dude, you need to rest."

"Dude." Neptune limped next to them, propping his crutches on the railing before leaning forwards. "It sucks down there. Besides, Ruby's uncle is stinking the place up with booze, and I needed the fresh air. But for you, Jaune…" He looked at him. "This isn't your fault. It's your fatal flaw."

"Huh?"

"You keep on dwelling on everything." Neptune looked back at the ocean. "You keep blaming yourself. You take responsibility for things that are out of your control. I know it's what makes you a good person, but that doesn't help when it comes to these types of situations.

"You have to just… not think about what could have been, but accept what happened and keep going."

"But-"

Neptune raised a hand, before reaching up and pulling up the bandage around his eye. There was a large scar over it, and it was swollen shut. "The doctors say there's a fifty-fifty chance that I'll lose sight in this eye. But I don't care, because I got this protecting my friends, for a mission that could end this war and save lives."

Jaune looked back out at the ocean, and Neptune clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"People get hurt. It's a fact of life. But wounds heal. I'm alive and breathing, so don't worry about it. Besides, it was totally my fault that time. I have no idea what I was thinking, trying to block a rocket like one of those movies. I should sue them."

Jaune and Pyrrha chuckled at that.

"I'm sorry." Jaune straightened up and looked at both of them. "I know that I always blame myself for things, and I want you to know that it's over. We need to be strong, and I need to be able to lead this team, so I'm not dragging you down anymore."

Neptune and Pyrrha smiled, the latter whom pulled him into a hug. "Thank you, Jaune."

"It's fine, Pyrrha. Just doing my job."

"So do you guys kiss now?"

At Nora's words, both Jaune and Pyrrha both blushed and jumped back. "Nora!"

"What?" she asked, smiling broadly. "It was a perfectly innocent question."

"Damn it, Nora." Ren sighed.

"You need to control your partner," Qrow told him, drinking from his flask.

"I gave up years ago…"

"AAAAND the moment's ruined!" Neptune announced, sighing and cradling his face in his hand. "Wonderful job, guys!"

Qrow shrugged. "Just my rotten luck, eh?"

* * *

Weiss sighed as she walked into the hospital room. "How are you, Whitely?"

"Honestly?" He smiled. His voice was weak from the bullet passing his neck and his blood loss still affected him. "It hurts a lot, but I couldn't care less."

She sighed again, before walking to his side of the bed, where she found Ruby fast asleep, head on the edge of the bed. "How long has she been here?"

"A few hours now." He frowned slightly. "She constantly beats herself up, even when I tell her it's not her fault."

"That's so like her." She sat down on a chair next to him and rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry, but we're going to be leaving soon. We've got all we need, and we have to end this war."

Whitely smiled again. "I believe in you, sis."

"Sis?" She looked up. "Since when did you call me anything other than sister or Weiss?"

He shrugged. "Well, Ruby uses it all the time to describe Yang. I guess it kinda stuck with me. And besides, it has a bit of a ring to it, Ya know?"

Weiss stared at him. Sis? Kinda? Y'know? Those were the kind of words that would send his father ballistic. "She's a bad influence."

"No, she's nice and kind." He reached to the desk beside him and held out a cookie for her. "She went and made these for me, and I have to say, she knows how to bake."

Weiss took it, nodding. She really was good at making them, but there were more pressing concerns. "I'm sorry we have to leave you, Whitely."

"It's fine." He responded, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Just do me a favor. End this war as soon as possible. I know you can."

She smiled, before hugging him. He twitched a bit from the wound but returned the hug tenfold. Weiss then shook Ruby awake.

As they left, Ruby quickly cast a glance back to Weiss - who was looking away - before leaning in and kissing Whitely on the cheek. "Get better soon."

"I will." He replied, blushing a bit.

Weiss and Ruby both left the room, heading to the main lobby where their car was waiting to take them to the airport. Weiss then turned to Ruby, an unusual grin on her face. "So… about that kiss..."

Ruby's face turned bright red. "Y-You saw that?! How?!"

"There was a mirror in that room." She shrugged, before showing her teeth as her grin grew. "I must wonder, though, how good of a sister-in-law will you be?"

"WEISS!" she shrieked in embarrassment, sending more than a few glances their way. Weiss just laughed, before jogging ahead to the car waiting outside, while Ruby chased after her, blabbering about how it wasn't what she thought it was, and that she was wrong and crazy, and how she could NEVER EVER tell Yang or her dad.


	40. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

 **A/N: I am sorry for the late upload, and as such, the chapter is a bit longer than normal. For those who will read, there will be a seemingly large gap in time and events halfway through, but that is intentional, as I couldn't separate them into different chapters as I had no way of lengthening them. But enough of that, leave a review on what you think, I appreciate all feedback, and enjoy!**

* * *

Herman Vulcan was in the local blacksmith workshop, modifying their weapons to contain bronze metal, and making ammunition. He was all too pleased to be able to cater to their needs and took the assignment with gusto.

Silver and Ruby were both practicing shooting with Magnum and Crescent Rose respectively, although he seemed distracted.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, loading in yet another magazine into her weapon.

He sighed and lowered Magnum. "Bronze knows my fighting style, so I asked for Herman to make another special weapon for me."

"What kind is it?" She asked. Personally, she thought Patriot and Magnum were perfectly good weapons respectively.

"Something special… something really complicated and unexpected, but should let me get the job done." He grinned. "I'm sure you're going to love it."

Ruby nodded. "Is that all?"

"Y-yeah. That's it." He brought up Magnum and fired three shots, sending three bullets straight through three targets.

"It's Yang, isn't it?"

He sighed again, placing Magnum on the ground this time. "Yeah. She's really pulled away for some reason, and she won't tell me why. Every time I try to talk to her, she turns away and just…"

Ruby tilted her head as Silver placed his head in his hands.

"I can help." She offered. "She'll probably be honest with me."

"Ruby, I appreciate it, but she won't even talk to Blake about it."

"But I'm her sister." Ruby argued. "She'll probably be open with me!"

Silver looked up. "Try. Please. It… hurts to see her avoiding me like this."

She grinned and pointed a thumb at herself. "You can count on me!"

* * *

Ruby burst through the door to Yang's room. "HI YANG!"

Yang shrieked from surprise, spinning on her bed. "Ruby?!"

"Ya~ang!" Ruby whined, jumping on her and hugging her. "C'mon, let's talk!"

Yang roughly pushed her away, hands crossed. "Ruby, you scared the crap out of me! And what is this about?!"

Ruby tilted her head. "Yang, you never act like this. I mean, you barely talk to me. Well, other than to tease me about…"

Yang grinned. "You and Whitely? Y'know, having Weiss as a sister-in-law will be awesome! Make it happen!"

Ruby blushed but pushed on. "Just… is there anything you want to tell me? You're the party girl, the loud-mouthed one, the obnoxious one…"

"Hey!"

"Seeing you like this… you always stay in your room since we got back. Dad's worried, Silver's worried, and so am I."

Yang looked away, shamefaced. "L-Look, Ruby, it's not any of you guys. Well, maybe one…"

"Who? Silver?"

She shook her head, then nodded, then shook it, then nodded again. "It's… complicated."

"Do you want to marry him? Is that it?"

She recoiled. "Wh-what?! I mean, sure, yeah, of course, I love him, but, but… It's more complicated than that."

"It's dad, right? I mean, sure, he'll be… crazy angry when Silver asks, but it'll work out."

She squirmed. "Just great…"

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Yang? What's wrong? You can tell me."

She took a breath. "I'll… tell you later."

"C'mon! You said-"

Yang placed a hand over her mouth. "After this is over, Ruby, I promise. We're going to go in a week to the island, so…" She then smiled. "I promise I'll tell you afterward."

Ruby pouted but then sighed and nodded. "Fine. Swear?"

"I swear on my life and Monty Oum's too."

"Good. But I'm serious about talking with him." She poked Yang's arm. "You're going to talk to him right now and apologize."

She sighed. "I guess, I mean you're our leader and all…" She stood up and grinned. "Make way, Yang Xiao-Long's here!"

Ruby laughed and grabbed Yang's arm, dragging her out of the room.

* * *

 ** _One week later…_**

" _This is Overlord to the Vale Third Bullhead squadron, do you copy?"_

"Go ahead, Overlord."

" _The mission is a go, Atlas Echo squadron has engaged enemy air force across the island, you are clear to move into LZ One and Two. Be advised, multiple foot mobiles with Rocket Launchers are lined up on the coast as well as small arms."_

"Roger that, what do we have for air support?"

" _You have the Atlas cruiser Endeavour armed for artillery support, and Atlas fighters Hammer 1-1 and 1-2 are in the area for CAS support. We also have a Mistral airship circling the area for recon, callsign Windrider."_

"Ground units?"

" _Vacuo soldiers are landing from boats and are engaged in battle with Steel foot troops, supported by Mistral and Vale commandos, but they're pinned down. Send in the Beacon Squad to support them ASAP."_

"Roger that, Overlord. Bullhead 3-1 out." The pilot switched the radio frequency. "Heads up, we're heading in, all units prepare for the drop, we're landing in three mikes."

Silver stood behind him and patted him on the shoulder before walking to the cockpit. Teams RWBY and JNPR looked back, along with Sun, Qrow and several Vale soldiers, wearing green combat uniforms and carrying assault rifles. "We're going in, let's get ready."

One of the soldiers on the side-mounted guns yelled out as bullets pinged on the metal. "We've got attack boats!"

Silver looked out the open door. Several Bullheads flew alongside them, heading towards a battle zone over the ocean. Fighters weaved through the air while airships sailed through, guns blazing down on the island, where an equal amount of firepower was being fired from. Ships on the water fired at the shore, while smaller Steel attack boats weaved between them, their cannons firing back at the ships and towards the sky.

"Looks like the information was right," Ren noted, wincing as a rocket shot by with a whistle. "They are very well prepared."

Silver nodded. Suddenly, there was an explosion and the Bullhead next to them suffered a direct hit to one of their engines.

" _Mayday, Mayday, this is Bullhead 3-3, we are going down, we are going down, grid points are two seven seven five, repeat, two seven-"_ The pilot was cut out as the Bullhead started spinning, while the soldiers inside struggled to hold on as it hit the water, spraying water into the air.

" _3-3 is down, 3-3 is down!"_ 3-4 called on the radio.

"Keep going, we've got to get to the landing zone!" 3-1 yelled into the radio, now sending the Bullhead weaving to avoid the incoming fire and rockets sent their way. "We'll be there in sixty seconds!"

Silver leaned out. Underneath, several Vacuo ships were heading to the shore, dropping off men and vehicles as they rushed up the island. The Bullhead pulled to a hover and hit the beach hard. "Go, go, go, everyone off!"

Silver and the others all jumped out and rushed to a concrete barrier, all crouching down behind it. Another explosion sounded as a second Bullhead was hit, the cries from the soldiers reaching their ears as the Bullhead span and hit the ground, sending sand flying into the air.

"This is chaos!" Sun yelled, ducking as a Steel fighter shot right above them, an Atlas fighter on its tail and sending sand billowing into the air from the jet streams. "How the hell do we get through?!"

Weiss jumped up and summoned a glyph, and a mortar slammed right into it, exploding. "We have to get out of here, we're not matched for long-range combat!"

Qrow gritted his teeth. "I am. You brats get out of here, I'll take care of the others." He ruffled Ruby's hair before leaping over the wall and sprinting towards the fight.

"Guess that leaves us to get inside," Jaune spoke up. "Where do we go?"

"Down." Silver replied. "They found a transport system into the facility, a train that goes right to the main command post in the volcano. We need to take that in."

"Got it. Ren, Nora, Pyrrha, and Weiss can stay out here and provide support and crowd control while me, Ruby, Yang, Blake, Sun, and Silver can go through the tunnel." Jaune told them.

"I like it! Let's break some legs!" With a large grin and a battle cry, Nora leaped over the wall and ran towards the fight.

"Did she just…" Blake gaped after her.

"Will she be alright?" Weiss asked nervously.

As if to answer their question, there was an enormous explosion, and a Steel soldier hit the ground next to them, uniform singed and covered in a pink dust. He groaned once before slumping down, and more shrieks and scream followed by explosions and Nora's maniacal laughter resonated through the air, as well as cheering from the soldiers pushing up.

"This is Nora we're talking about." Ren sighed, pulling out Stormflower. "You will be alright?"

"Of course." Silver nodded. "Let's go, everyone!"

* * *

"Beacon squad! In here, in here!"

They all ducked into a building where an Atlas commando greeted them and guided them down the stairs. Many other soldiers, from Vacuo Infantry to Vale special forces, all nodded to them as they passed, while machine gunners fired out from the windows, shell casings littering the floor. They waited while a Mistral soldier fired a rocket launcher, the backblast shattering the door behind him, but they didn't seem to care.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" The commando asked as they entered the underground train system, where several commandos and technicians were working on a train carriage. "You… do seem to be a bit out of your element here."

"It's fine." Silver nodded. "Will this train cart take us to the main base?"

"Yes." The man nodded. " _Windrider_ spotted Bronze and her bodyguard team heading to the main base inside the volcano. There's no possible chance for her to escape, she's most likely bunkered down." He then tapped his radio. "Overlord's monitoring the underground cameras and will guide you through the facility when you arrive."

"Thank you." Silver shook his hand before they all boarded the carriage. With a jerk, the train shot down the rails.

Ruby collapsed onto a seat, shaking slightly. "T-This… it's all crazy…"

Silver sat next to her and rubbed her back. "You know you can stay behind if you want…"

"No." Ruby looked up, silver eyes meeting his own. "I-I can fight. I won't stand by while my friends are fighting."

"That's the spirit!" Yang slapped her on the back, almost knocking her off her seat. "Besides, we're all kitted out, so we're pretty much unstoppable!"

"We'll make it though." Jaune grinned. "Herman really thought of everything."

Ruby nodded. They'd all been given body armor by Vulcan, who presented it to them at the last minute. Ruby wore a very light vest and light helmet, so it didn't hinder her movement, and he even engraved red roses onto the helmet and armor, which was in a crimson red. Yang wore the same, except she had a pair of sunglasses instead of a helmet, and her vest was more armored. She also had them in yellow with an orange flame as her emblem.

Snow had his helmet changed to show his eyes, with a silver visor that could be pulled down to cover his eyes. His chest-piece also seemed larger on the back, and his emblem was - unusually - a winged figure in a silver shade.

Jaune's armor was much more heavy, white with gold highlights and a heavy helmet with the Arc crest on it. Crocea Mors hung from his hip, and on his back, he carried Silver's sniper rifle, Magnum. They'd agreed he needed a new weapon, preferably ranged.

Sun wore yellow armor which had black highlights on it, although he didn't wear a helmet and wore a pair of yellow headphones with a microphone. Blake had a similar getup in black with white highlights and had a black bandanna holding her hair up instead of her bow. Sun had a banana emblem while Blake had a black sun on hers.

"I still can't believe you chose that." Blake sighed, shaking her head.

"What?" Sun protested. "I like bananas, I'm a monkey Faunus!"

"Not the emblem. Why the headphones?"

"They make me look cool." He shrugged.

They could have continued arguing had there not been a thump on the roof above them. "What was that?" Jaune asked.

There was a crash as the hatch from the roof was kicked in, and three figures jumped down. Two were soldiers in heavy body armor with shields and shock batons and wearing gas masks under large helmets, while the third was a young man in a uniform almost the same as Silver's, except it was white. "Hello there."

"Let me guess." Silver turned to him. "Iron?"

"Irian is the real name, but yes, I do go by the name of Iron." He replied. "I do hope that you will indulge in a bit of a fair fight."

"No, my fight goes to Bronze."

"A pity." He sighed. "Well, you know how it works."

Blake and Sun both stepped forwards. "Leave it to us. We can take them."

Iron grinned, before pulling out a long and very thin sword, similar to Weiss's. "Very well. It will be nice to see a challenge."

Sun and Blake walked forwards, but there was a sudden explosion that threw them forwards and the others back, and the carriages started to draw apart.

"Blake!" Yang cried out.

"Just go!" She called back, Gambol Shroud out as she and Sun faced off against Iron. "We've got it, just finish this!"

Yang nodded, and as they drew apart they watched them start to fight. "This is so messed up."

"Have faith in them." Jaune placed a hand on her shoulder. Next to him, Ruby nodded. Silver smiled and they walked to the front of the carriage as they shot down the line towards the end.

The end of the line, both literally and figuratively.


	41. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

 **A/N: The end might be a bit rushed, but that's because I'm past my bedtime and my parents are telling me to go to bed now. So enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The train arrived at the station, which was surprisingly empty, although gunfire boomed from the exit as Silver, Yang, Ruby, and Jaune rushed up the stairs.

They quickly ducked into a toilet as several soldiers ran past, and they quickly ran out of the exit and rushed to the side into a doorway.

They were looking out into a street, with buildings on either side. There were several anti-air guns were set up in the middle of the road and on the buildings around them, firing into the sky.

Suddenly, an Atlas fighter came in, and from underneath a bomb fell from it, striking a truck and blowing it up, knocking several soldiers to the ground. Another bomb fell and hit a building, and there were screams as two soldiers stumbled out, clothes on fire while others rushed up to extinguish the flames.

Ruby whimpered from the sight, but they pushed on, heading to one of the largest buildings on the volcano.

"There." Silver peeked around the corner. The building was made up of walkways and pillars, but what was most noticeable was the fact it was sitting on an overhang right over the mouth of the volcano, where an enormous lava lake bubbled, casting an ominous orange glow to the building. "Of course Bronze would be so dramatic…"

"Gotta admit, looks cool for an evil lair." Jaune looked around.

"That's… a lot of guards…" Yang sweatdropped, spotting the many soldiers in the front of the building. "How do we get past that?"

Silver glanced over. "I think we should-"

There was a scream of engines as an Atlas fighter suddenly burst through the clouds high above them, falling uncontrollably as the pilot bailed out. The fighter, now pilotless, started spinning wildly, corkscrewing to the building. The guards all scattered as the fighter hit the building, bouncing off before screeching across the road and coming to a stop several hundred meters down the road. Half the soldiers immediately ran at it, presumably to secure it, while the rest of them ran to find the pilot who bailed.

"Well, that was easy." Jaune broke the silence.

There were still two soldiers, but Ruby took care of them, sending them flying through the air with Crescent Rose before they hit the ground. Yang quickly sent a punch to each one to knock them out before dragging them to the sides and dumping them into a guard booth.

Running into the lobby, they found themselves in a large entryway with tables and chairs, with large indoor balconies looking down and elevators in the back. Silver tapped his earpiece. "This is Beacon Squad, we're in the main building, over."

" _This is Overlord."_ A voice replied. " _Target is on the top floor, there's a penthouse up there where the target is trying to bunker down. Be advised, left and middle lifts are booby trapped, suggest coming out to the floor below and moving through the stairs."_

"Got it."

They all rushed into the lift, where they took the lift to the fifty-fourth floor. "Anything else, Overlord?"

" _There's approximately fifty to sixty enemy infantry with small arms guarding the roof. It's not going to be pretty, we can call in an airstrike from Hammer 1-1 and 1-2, over."_

"Yeah, I don't want the building coming down on us, so we'll pass."

" _Roger. Good luck."_

"Beacon Squad out." Silver switched his mic off. "So, guys. Guess this is it."

"We'll follow you to the end." Jaune grinned, although from the sweat running down his brow he was very nervous. "I… man, this is crazy."

"Oh, you just realize now?" Yang replied sarcastically, knocking on his helmet. They all laughed before falling silent as the lift slowly made it's way up.

"You think the others are fine?"

Silver tapped his earpiece. "We'd know. Besides, I have a feeling they're not the ones having trouble…

* * *

"Soldier, calm down. What's going on?"

" _We're being attacked by a maniac girl!"_ The voice on the other end shrieked. " _She's got a large hammer and she's… oh god… Please, PLEASE, NO!"_

The radioman jumped as the man on the other end screamed and a maniacal laugh resonated, followed by a burst of static. He looked up as an enormous pink mushroom cloud exploded down at the front lines.

"All available units, scramble to the front lines, we've got huntsmen and huntresses on the beach, repeat, we've got-"

An enormous sword smashed onto his head, the flat of his blade cracking his helmet and knocking him out.

Qrow sighed. "Damn it, I'm too late."

He turned to see three mechs walking towards him, guns aimed at him. He grit his teeth as he grabbed his flask and took a quick swig before pulling out his scythe and running at them.

* * *

The lift door opened, and Jaune quickly rushed out, shield up. "Nothing, we're clear."

Silver, Yang, and Ruby rushed out, weapons raised as they rushed to the stairs. They winced as an explosion shook the building again.

Jaune was running ahead when suddenly a door to the side was kicked open, and a large figure walked through.

He carried an enormous battle ax, and was dressed head to toe in red armor, and on the smooth surface of the helmet, a skull was scratched through the paint, leaving a bronze color to the skull.

"Oh… kay…" Ruby stepped back nervously. "Who are you?"

The man merely growled, lifting the weapon up and swinging it. Silver stepped forwards, arms raised. "We don't have time for this! Let us through!"

"I'm getting flashbacks to when we faced Torchwick on that train…" Yang muttered. "Too bad Weiss isn't here."

"Didn't she lose to him though?" Ruby asked, remembering the White Fang lieutenant.

"Yeah, but, at least she'd have experience."

"She still lost though."

The growl of the man interrupted their argument as he stepped forward.

Jaune quickly placed himself between them. "Go. I've got this."

"But Jaune, we can take him out together-"

"There's no time!" Jaune pulled out Crocea Mors. "Bronze is still up there, and I'm not going to be much use against her up there. Besides…" Jaune grinned. "Figure one guy is better than six million."

"When you put it like that… Fine. Be careful." Silver reached to his holster and tossed him one of his pistols. "Just in case."

"Thanks." Jaune turned back to the man, who let Silver, Ruby and Yang pass. He chuckled to himself as he swung the weapon around in the corridor.

"So…" Jaune lifted up his sword. "Ready?"

He responded by smashing his ax into a door, shattering it with one hand, before swinging it around and pointing it at him.

"Right…" Jaune swallowed. "Umm… any chance of swapping-EEK!"

He shrieked as the ax swung for his throat, and it smashed into the wall as he narrowly dodged it. _Why did I agree to do this?!_

* * *

Ruby quickly slashed through the legs of three Steel robots, before bringing the shaft down on the head of a soldier. _Why did I agree to this?!_

"You holding ok, sis?" Yang called, currently holding two soldiers in chokeholds before dropping them when they lost consciousness. She then just raised a hand to catch the fist of another soldier before throwing him into the air.

Silver caught him by the legs and used the momentum to swing him around and send him flying into a group of them, before running in and swiftly taking them out with several well-placed punches. "C'mon, Bronze is close by."

"Just go then!" Yang yelled, looking up as two Steel drop ships entered the sky and started dropping more robots down. "She's through the double doors over there!"

Silver shot her one last grin. "Make sure you come back once you're finished!"

"Got it, hon!" She winked, oblivious to the three robots jumping in the air, blades out. Ruby shot up and kicked them all away.

"Yang! Please, enough with the lovey-dovey stuff and help!" She growled, firing Crescent Rose three times before spinning the scythe around and propelling herself forwards.

"Sorry, sis." Yang laughed, rushing into the fray.

* * *

Silver rushed through the doors and into a walkway, which was under construction.

He ran down, peeking over the edge and swallowing. The walkway was now right over the lava pit, and heading towards a large structure in the middle, a building that was under construction, with the top half only made of scaffolding and steel beams.

He ran into an open unfinished floor, the heat from the lava surrounding him and making him sweat. "Where are you, Bronze? I'm here!"

"So you are…" Her voice resonated around him. "So you are so eager to die?"

"Wonder how you can be so confident." He chuckled. "The kingdoms are invading your base, the war's gonna end soon, and all my friends are on the way, so yeah, I'd say you're pretty screwed."

She laughed. "Well, then, I guess we'd better make this battle worth it."

He spun around as she suddenly flew in. She was still in her bronze armor, but instead of her right arm, she had a large blade that was producing from the missing limb, with its own boosters carrying her upwards. She also had her regular weapons on her back and it was more bulky, and it was clear it had been enhanced. She landed elegantly, before spinning the blade and aiming it at him. It glowed of pure silver. "Care to fight?"

He pulled out Patriot and shot out a single rocket, but she merely deflected it, the rocket sent spinning as it hit the wall of the volcano, sending rocks tumbling to the lava below. "Hmm… guess you got a new weapon?"

"A new arm." She corrected. "Courtesy of your girlfriend. Tell me, how will it feel when you die by this blade, because of her, hmm?"

"I don't intend to die."

"Keep saying that, brother."

"Well, since you showed your weapons, I think I'll show you mine."

He pulled out Patriot and pressed a button, and the entire launcher changed, swiftly turning and splitting into two large swords, single edged and lined with bronze.

"Not bad." She stiffened at the sight of the metal.

"I'm not done yet."

He crouched down and put a finger to his ear. "Four Seven Niner?"

" _Read you loud and clear! Ready for the package?"_

"Yep. Send it in."

" _Kick her ass, kid."_

Bronze tensed up. What was he doing? Her answer came when she heard the whistling of several objects from above, and she jumped back as dozens of blades hit the ground around her, all impaling into the floor.

"What is this?"

Silver grinned, and there was a sudden glow from his back. The blade closest to her suddenly shone a white light from the back, and more followed suit until all of them glowed.

As one, they all suddenly jerked back, and Bronze winced as a blade from behind caught her cheek as it passed. But she lost attention as Silver stood up and the blades all formed behind him, connected to his back. They formed together to create the shape of two very large wings, making him look like an angel as he stood up and grabbed the blades.

Silver eyes glowed as he looked up, smiling. "Ready?"


	42. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

 **A/N: The next chapter... I worked quite hard and I'm gonna say, I love how it came out. I do wish there'd be a bit more action, but there's only so much I can do. If you're gonna imagine it in your head, then just make the fight scenes longer when you visualize it, it's surprisingly hard to write down a fight scene without it being repetitive or long. But anyway, here's the next chapter, and I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Sun quickly ducked under a shock baton and slammed his nunchucks against the man's torso, knocking him back, before leaping over a low kick by the other and landing on his shoulders, kicking him as he jumped back. "That all you got?"

They just picked themselves up and kept attacking, both unrelenting with their aura's and armor protecting them from injury, but there seemed to be something wrong about how their aura's reacted…

As the first one charged, Sun gritted his teeth and jumped again, this time firing his weapon right into his face as he passed. The man flipped back from the force and smashed into the back of the carriage, almost comically sliding down onto his head. But he was already pushing himself up when he hit the floor.

"Seriously?!" Sun groaned, quickly changing his weapons to a staff and catching the second soldier right in the crotch, but he continued swinging. "SERIOUSLY?!"

He hoped Blake was having a better fight than him. At least she would be defeating him, right?

* * *

Blake just couldn't hit the guy!

Irian, Iron, whatever his stupid name was, he was just so… infuriating!

He just stood with an expression of complete boredom as he parried Blake's attacks with one hand. He did seem to be concentrating on something, but what got on Blake's nerves was the fact it wasn't focused on her.

And he just had to ramble on and on!

"My semblance allows me to grant a strong immunity to others within close proximity, but it does take a bit of concentration." Iron explained, arm a blur as he fended off Blake's own katana while he had his other hand aimed at the carriage below. "I did train myself to fight in this way, however, so you are fighting me while I am not focusing on this battle completely."

"Sh-Shut up!" She yelled, flipping back before firing at him with the gun on Gambol Shroud as fast as her finger would pull the trigger. With a speed that would make Ruby jealous and precision that would baffle Weiss, he merely flicked his sword around and deflected each and every bullet. He made a big show of yawning loudly.

"Is that all you have to show me? Clearly, I overestimated you kids when Bronze told me to be on my guard."

Blake felt a vein bulge as he ticked her off again. "Any reason to mock me like this?"

"Well, it is fun." He smiled. "Also, it gives me a tactical advantage, especially as most lose their concentration, including you."

"Huh?" Her eyes widened when he suddenly leaped forward, catching her sheath and sending it flying. She quickly rolled past him and threw the ribbon of her weapon, managing to catch it before it hit the rails and pulling it back.

As she caught her breath, she realized that the carriage had slowed from the ascent and was now on its way back to the main train station. Iron didn't seem to realize that yet, most likely from focusing on her and channeling his aura to the other soldiers. If she could just delay him for a little bit…

"Right…" Blake entered a combat stance.

Iron grinned at this and raised his sword. But what totally shocked him was when Blake let out a yell and ran right at him, throwing the sheath right at him. He knocked it away but could do nothing as Blake started swinging right at him, slashing across his body several times as she kept pushing against him, not allowing him a chance to use his long sword to full effect.

Nora once told her - during the few times that she became wise and thoughtful, which was extremely rare and freaky - that the secret to her success in combat was because of her unpredictability and doing things that the enemy would never believe she'd do in certain scenarios.

Admittedly, it seemed to work well for Nora, so why not try it out? She didn't have much to lose, after all.

* * *

Sun heard Blake's battle cry, and immediately the guards seemed to show less strength. They also seemed to realize as well, as their aura levels fell, and their next attacks came more desperately.

Sun blocked a strike from a shock baton, thankful that the wooden lining of his staff couldn't channel electricity, and collapsed his staff into his nunchucks and repeatedly slammed them across his head. As he stumbled back, the second swung, and Sun grabbed him and got him in a chokehold.

The first one then swung with the baton and Sun pulled the man in front of him. The electricity struck the man and he screamed, as did Sun as the metal armor coursed through his arms and sent him flying back, hitting the wall. The second soldier slumped to the ground while the first tried to kick Sun while he was down.

Sun jerked his head to the side, letting the boot strike the wall, before grabbing it and pushing it upwards, causing the soldier to fall onto his back. Sun then jumped on top of him and proceeded to punch him in the head, over and over.

The soldier, while dazed, kicked him off and stood up, the other one recovering and getting up as well. Sun also got up and glared at them before his eyes widened.

They all looked through the open window at the back of the carriage and dived for cover, grabbing onto any handheld they could.

* * *

Blake was thankful for adrenaline. Otherwise, she'd have had no chance to continue this up.

She kept pressing against Iron, always striking and slashing, but he was starting to recover, managing to catch her several times. Her aura was almost to zero, and now any hit she took resulted in a cut or a bruise, but she didn't care.

She just had to keep him busy for a little longer…

Iron kicked forwards and sent Blake sliding back. He looked up, eyes filled with fury before widening in shock and horror.

She looked back and smiled. The carriage had been dragged by gravity down the rails, and the station where they started in was now in sight.

Just before they reached the station, the emergency brakes locked, sending Blake and Iron flying off the carriage to hit the platform and roll painfully across.

The carriage had too much momentum and hit the far wall, lifting off the rails from the impact before smashing down again, tipping on its side. The noise of screaming metal and cracking concrete was deafening.

Blake pushed herself up and watched as Iron stumbled towards her, sword out. She tried to stand up, but her legs gave way from exhaustion. She raised Gambol Shroud and pulled the trigger, but all she got were clicks. Her gun was empty.

"You absolute… piece of…" Iron leveled the sword at her. "You will pay for what you've done. Everything, years of planning and sacrifice, all spoiled by little kids playing _hero…_ So why don't you go ahead and die like every other Huntsman in history?!" He yelled, sword raised, prepared to finish it.

Blake closed her eyes.

Suddenly, there was a shout, and Iron spun around to be met by bullets. The last of his aura gave way within a second, and his cries were cut out as bullets thudded into him. He was dead before he hit the floor.

Blake looked up to see the soldiers from the station all lowering their weapons. The Atlas commando who guided them in ran forwards with a medic, and they looked at her. "Are you alright?"

"Where's…" She winced in pain as her adrenaline fell, and the pain over her body came full force. "Where's Sun…?"

He nodded towards the train. The soldiers were dragging away the two Steel soldiers at gunpoint while another medic was looking over Sun. He was clutching his leg, which was bent at an odd angle, and he had blood flowing from a gash across his shoulder and arm from broken glass.

The soldier and medic helped Blake to walk towards him, and she leaned back on the wall as Sun had the medic remove pieces of glass from his arm. He was wincing in pain, but he smiled as he looked up to Blake. "Heya. We did well, didn't we?"

She looked to the body of Iron, which was being dragged away by two soldiers from Vacuo. "Yeah… I hope the others are fine."

Sun nodded, then gasped as the medic pulled out the last shard from his gash before bandaging his arm.

"I wouldn't recommend fighting with this injury." The medic told him as he helped Sun to lean against the wall next to Blake. "You're war's over. Take it easy, we'll get you out soon."

"I think we want to stay here until it's over," Sun told him. "We're going back when our friends arrive."

The medic seemed to pause at that before nodding. "Alright. Anything else?"

"Water." Sun coughed. "I'm parched."

He chuckled as he handed them two water canteens, and then running up the stairs, presumably to help others in need as the forces pushed further up the island.

The two sat in silence. Other soldiers were milling around but they gave them space.

"Think the others are alright?" Sun broke the silence.

Blake just leaned against him, and he put an arm around her shoulders. "Maybe."

"Shouldn't we… I dunno, go and give them backup or something?"

"Hm." She shrugged, although the pain from the movement showed from her wince. Deep down, she knew that they should help their friends, but there wasn't much they could do. "We're not really going to help in our current status."

They looked at each other. Sun's leg was in a splint, and the bandages on his arm and shoulder were already bloody. Blake was covered in small cuts and scrapes as well as bruises from the landing from the train, and she was exhausted, all her muscles aching.

"You're right." Sun sighed, leaning back. Blake did too.

Silence.

"Who do you think's gonna win?"

Blake scoffed. "Of course Yang and the others."

"Wanna bet?" Sun grinned.

"Why? You losing confidence in your friends?"

"I know I'm gonna lose this bet, figured you'd want a favor or something."

Blake chuckled. "You're on. Let me get back to you when I figure out what I want."

"Good, because if you lose, then we're going skydiving." Sun then laughed as Blake's face turned pale and she punched him lightly in the chest, scowling at him before it gave way to a smile.

' _I guess I was wrong…'_ Blake thought to herself as Sun started talking, always with that cheerful attitude and bright smile of his. ' _I do have something to fight for. Well, someone…'_

Sun noticed Blake closing her eyes, so he fell silent, just content with leaning his head on hers and wrapping his uninjured arm around her shoulder as they both recovered.


	43. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

 **A/N: So close to the end! So right now, I am putting most of my time and effort into finishing this fanfiction. I do have another one ongoing that I highly recommend checking out, FRAGMENTS OF REMNANT, a Red vs. Blue and RWBY crossover where the original AI are sent to Remnant instead of dying in the EMP, or emp, or whatever. But anyway, now that the weekend is here and I don't have too much homework, I should be able to get at least one chapter out by Sunday, but no promises. I want to thank you all for the support you've shown me, leave a review on what you think about the story so far, and for now, Enjoy!**

* * *

Jaune rushed through the door and slammed it shut behind him, only for an axe to suddenly smash it in half.

He stumbled into an enormous room with desks and tables spread out. It would have been an office with computers and chairs separated by boards, but he didn't really care as the man walked in slowly, hefting the axe.

Jaune ducked as the giant blade swung at him, demolishing a stack of tables. Jaune then leapt forwards and swung his blade right at the man, channelling his aura to his arms for extra strength, but it merely bounced off the thick armour plating, sending vibrations up his arms and making him stumble backwards in pain.

He couldn't stop him as the man swung at him and caught him with the flat of the axe, sending him smashing into a pillar and hitting the ground, dazed, although his aura held. Jaune saw his sword slide to the side, then looked up and screamed again as the axe came down towards his head. He rolled to the side, and the axe smashed into the ground, only to come up again and smash down towards him again, sending marble chips everywhere. Jaune rolled the other way, then when the axe came down a third time he pushed himself back desperately. It smashed right between his legs, and he squeaked as he felt the fabric tear from the blade.

Jaune jumped up over a table, and the man just smashed it in half as he continued his chase. Jaune then grabbed his sword from the floor and turned, pushing himself off and flying towards the man by channeling as much of his aura as he could into his legs. The man ducked as he sailed over him.

Jaune hit the ground and slid under several tables before silently crawling behind a pillar to hide. He looked down and paled when he found a tear right at the seam between his legs. He realized as well that his aura was dangerously low, from the battle into the compound as well as the hit he'd taken.

' _There's no way I'm gonna beat him in a fair fight.'_ Jaune thought to himself, wincing as the man smashed a table in half, trying to find him. He quietly pulled out Magnum and tried to remember the one-day lesson he'd had with Silver on the weapon.

" _Remember, Magnum is a powerful weapon, but it will mean nothing if you tense up. When firing, relax and don't jerk the trigger, just squeeze it lightly and slowly until it fires. Let it surprise you."_

Jaune quietly raised the sniper rifle and aimed at the man, who had his back turned to him. He put his finger on the trigger and emptied his lungs, slowly pulling the trigger.

Click.

Jaune's eyes widened as he realized he'd forgotten to switch off the safety, and in the empty room the small noise echoed, and the man turned and saw him, and with a roar, he charged.

Jaune flicked the safety and aimed again at the rapidly closing man, and all the lessons he knew flew out the window as he squeezed the trigger.

The gun fired, and the force knocked him back and onto the ground, while the bullet shot right through the man's throat, cutting his voice out and making him stumble before he hit the ground right on Jaune's legs.

He cried out in pain as the man slammed on top of him, but what scared him most was the final sigh as the man died, blood from the hole in his neck and mouth dripping onto him.

Jaune desperately shoved him off, but the man just turned once, trapping his legs under half a ton of armour and dead man.

Jaune just breathed heavily on the floor, wiping the blood off his face. He felt sick, despite the fact the man had tried to kill him right up to his death. But it was war. He'd been lucky to actually avoid killing anyone up to this point, on arguably the last day of the fighting.

Shouts came from the hallway, and his eyes widened as several Steel soldiers and Androids rushed into the room. Jaune grabbed the pistol Silver gave him and fired, spraying bullets across the room. The soldiers all ducked for cover, but the Androids just fired back. Jaune managed to take down several before one of them rushed forwards, grabbing the gun from his hand and wrenching it free, before grabbing his head and smashing him into the ground three times, face-first.

Jaune's vision darkened and blood poured from his forehead as the Android flung him to the ground and slamming a metal boot into his chest. His Aura had no chance, already so low from the battle, and he gasped as he felt a cracking in his chest from his ribs.

"You're gonna pay for that." One of the soldiers walked forward, gun out. "Pull him up."

Jaune couldn't do anything as another Android approached and lifted him to his knees. He looked up as the barrel of the gun was placed to his head, and he just sighed and lowered his head.

' _Guess this is it…'_ Jaune thought to himself. ' _I just hope that Silver and the others stop Bronze on time… And I hope my team will be ok."_

He held his breath as the soldier pulled back the hammer of the pistol and tightened his finger on the trigger.

"RRRAAAAAGGHHH!"

There was an explosion which threw Jaune, the Androids and the man back. Jaune watched through hazy eyes as the man stood up only to be met by a mace to the head, knocking him down. The two Androids both received shots to the head.

"Jaune! You alright?"

He looked up to see a large man in a Steel uniform crouched over him. He threw off his helmet to reveal short orange hair and a very familiar face.

"C-Cardin…?"

Cardin Winchester, Jaune's former bully at Beacon, just nodded. "C'mon, let's get you out of here."

Jaune accepted his hand as Cardin pulled him up, and he saw Russel, Dove and Sky all finishing off the last soldiers, all in Steel uniform minus their helmets. As they all headed down the hall, Jaune turned to them, wincing in pain from his chest. "What… what are you-"

"Shut up, you're hurt bad." Cardin hissed. "I'll tell you. After the fiasco at the Vytal Festival, my dad pulled me back to keep me safe from the invasion, and we landed on this island which my dad owns. Well, owned. Turns out, when I arrived, I ran straight into their hands. He managed to get me a job as a soldier in the army after they bought this island from him, but, well…" He shrugged, swinging his mace in the other hand. "I hate the military. All the rules and protocols, it's a real dampener on a guy's mood."

"But… why would you save me?"

"To clear an old debt." Cardin grinned. "Remember Forever Fall? Now we're even."

Jaune chuckled. "Thanks, Cardin."

"No problem. Besides, I've been a real prick to you. Only fair we help, right guys?"

The last part was aimed at the others, who all turned and grinned. "Yeah!" Russel twirled his daggers. "We're sick and tired of this place, let's get out of here!"

They all headed down the lift and onto the street, where the gunfire was much closer than before. Unsurprisingly, no one paid much attention to the five as they rushed down the back alleyways towards the front lines.

"In here." Cardin kicked aside a dumpster. Dove and Sky both reached down and lifted a manhole cover, revealing a dark tunnel lit up by faint lights. "Found this place when we arrived, takes us right outside the main compound to the storage building."

Jaune winced as he lowered himself down the ladder, and they continued down the tunnel, ducking down as an explosion caused dust to fall from the ceiling.

"Did you… see what was going on… upstairs?" Jaune asked, exhausted.

"There were a lot of soldiers up there." Dove nodded. "But they aren't much. Standard issue soldiers, nothing they can handle. Who else is here, by the way?"

"There's Silver, team RWBY and my team. Sun's also here as well."

"That monkey Faunus?"

"Yeah." Jaune nodded, before stumbling and clutching his chest. "I… feel dizzy…"

"You got hit pretty bad." Cardin sighed. "Honestly, we should have stepped in. That group used us to launch an ambush on you. We could have overpowered them the moment the fight started, but…"

"It's fine." Jaune struggled to keep his eyes open and was breathing with difficulty from his cracked ribs.

They arrived at a section of the tunnel that had collapsed, sending sunlight streaming through, and the sounds of gunfire echoed from above. They all slowly crept through, standing in the remains of a warehouse, with the smoldering remains of an Atlas fighter having broken through the tunnel by digging through the ground from the impact.

And standing next to it were several soldiers, who all raised their weapons at the four men dressed in Steel uniforms.

"Friendly!" Cardin raised his hands, and the others followed suit. It was only when Jaune waved at them when they rushed forwards to get him.

Jaune let himself be taken and led to a stretcher, and was being carried away.

"Jaune!"

He looked to the side to see Pyrrha, Weiss, Ren, and Nora running towards him, and he smiled.

* * *

Pyrrha pushed forwards and clasped his hand. "Jaune! Are you alright?!"

Jaune seemed to try to answer, but he was in obvious pain and he couldn't seem to move.

"He's suffering from a concussion and cracked ribs, possible internal bleeding." The medic next to them told her. "We'll have to sedate him and get him to the medical bay of the _Endeavor_."

"Will he be alright?" Weiss asked. "Does he need more Aura?"

"Yes, he should be, although we have to get him there now." The medic sorted through his bags and pulled out a needle. "We'll have to check for internal injuries, so I'm sorry, but I can't authorize an Aura transfusion. Standard procedure, his body needs to heal slowly by itself."

Cardin walked up to them. "We've got a tunnel leading straight to the main compound. You four will come with us."

Pyrrha wanted desperately to stay, but she knew that she'd be more use fighting. So many men and women had died, and they needed them to end the battle quickly.

"Be safe, Jaune," Pyrrha whispered to him. "I… just please, don't die…"

She felt just the faintest of a squeeze from his hand and saw the smallest of smiles on his face, but his eyes told her that he'd heard her. He then closed his eyes as the medic injected him with a sedative and he lost consciousness.

Pyrrha let her hand slip from his grasp and watched as Jaune was taken away to the street, where a Bullhead immediately landed to take him back to the Atlas airship.

"Let's go, Pyrrha." Weiss patted her on the shoulder. "We've gotta go, the commandos are ready."

She turned to see Ren, Nora, team CRDL and several special ops soldiers waiting to the entrance of the warehouse with the tunnel. She knew that Silver and the rest of team RWBY would be there.

"Ok." She took a deep breath. "For Jaune."

Weiss nodded.

"For Jauney! Let's go break some legs!" Nora yelled, and the soldiers around her cheered as they all followed her through the tunnel at a run.

"Did she just…?" Cardin stared after them.

Ren stood to the side and sighed. "That's Nora to you. We might want to catch up to them."

"OI! WAIT UP!" Cardin yelled, and he and his team followed in pursuit.

"Shall we?" Ren smiled. Pyrrha and Weiss just nodded their heads before running after them.

' _No more.'_ Pyrrha thought to herself. ' _First Silver, then Neptune, then Whitely and now Jaune… We can't lose anyone else now…'_

' _I'm not going to let any of them get hurt anymore!'_

With newfound strength, she pushed herself faster down the tunnel as they all sprinted towards the main compound.


	44. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

 **A/N: No words. Leave a review on what you think. Enjoy!**

* * *

" _This is Windrider to Overlord, we've, uh, got a situation."_

" _This is Overlord, go ahead Windrider."_

" _Operative Silver has engaged Target Bronze in the Volcano at grid four niner seven one. They're… in a heated battle."_

" _Roger that, what's their status?"_

" _They're… flying through the air. Target Bronze appears to have an augmented arm with an attached blade and more weapons, and Operative Silver us using his own suit with… wings?"_

" _... Overlord copies all. Recommend you continue to monitor the fight. Reinforcements will be arriving in approximately two mikes, let them know when to move in. Hammer 1-1 and 1-2 are also on standby in the airspace."_

" _Roger that, Windrider out."_

* * *

The large open area of the construction site they were in proved to be perfect for both of them.

Bronze had implemented the use of not only her augmented arm but a small booster she had attached to it, so she could do incredibly fast charges across the ground with her attached blade.

Silver's new suit was almost on par, though. The suit had a booster as well which allowed him to sprint very quickly and even achieve short flight with the wings deployed, which he could stow away at will.

It was General Ironwood of the Atlas military who'd given him the suggestion, and it was inspired by his creation, Penny, also Ruby's friend who she'd met during the Torchwick Paladin scenario in Vale. Last they'd heard, she was on the front lines of Atlas on the battlefield and apparently very successful with her blades, although she did have a tendency to show moments of uncontrollable rage against the Steel troops when her own soldiers were hurt or killed.

The blades from Silver's new suit weren't completely controllable. He could send them out and pull them back in from any direction, as well as use the blades to connect to create wings for flight.

At the moment, the two siblings were locked in intense combat, blades slashing across each other as all strikes were blocked.

Silver leaped back and sent several blades flying towards Bronze, who ducked and shot forwards, the boosters on her arm pulling her forwards.

Silver merely stepped to the side and smashed a fist into the back of her head, sending her rolling. She got up and started running around as more blades flew towards her before she took to the air.

The blades all formed into wings and he shot into the air, following her, and they flew over the lava pool as they arced through the air, sparks flying every time they met between turns. Bronze hit the side of the wall and ran along, and from her augmented arm, she started firing bullets from an integrated gun inside. Silver brought up his blades and blocked several of the shots before detaching several blades from his wings and sending them at her. She just ducked as they all thudded into the wall around her, and she took him by surprise by pushing off and flying towards him.

She kicked him right in the head and sent him flying back, before firing a boost from her arm and smashing into his chest. She brought the blade up and tried to stab him in the throat, but he dodged at the last second, the blade impaling into his booster on his back.

They both smashed into the ground, both rolling in opposite directions before standing up and facing them.

"Silver!"

They both looked up to see the walkway flooded with people. Ruby, Yang, and Weiss were running with Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren, along with several soldiers carrying assault rifles and shields.

"Looks like my friends are here." Silver grinned. "Game over."

"Not quite." Bronze hissed, and she reached for a remote on her belt and pressed a button.

From below on the structure, marching up the stairs to the sides of the walkway entrance, several large Steel robots walked forwards, armed with belt-fed machine guns. They all stopped as the robots aimed at them, and the soldiers pushed forwards with riot shields just as they opened fire, sending a hail of bullets against the wall of metal.

"We're not done here!" Bronze yelled, blade out again. "I'm finishing this here and now, alone!"

"That's why you lost." Silver replied, raising his own blades. "Because you did everything alone. That's why you despised me. Because I had friends and family to look after me." He pushed his leg back and his booster powered up. "You killed my brother because you were jealous."

She shot forwards again, and they started trading blows, the whole time while the soldiers were shooting back at the Androids.

* * *

" _This is Windrider to Hammer 1-1 and 1-2, do you copy?"_

" _This is Hammer 1-1, go ahead."_

" _We've got a situation at grid four seven niner one, heavy Androids have blocked off the way for the squad to reach and support Operative Silver. They're requesting for a precision strike on target."_

" _Roger that, Hammer 1-2 has one last precision strike ground missile for use. We're flying high over the grid point and are looking into the volcano's crater, please guide us in for strike."_

" _Do you see the large walkway from the large building on the edge of the main compound to the large structure in the middle of the lava pit?"_

" _Copy."_

" _Do you see the area where the bridge ends at the structure?"_

" _Copy."_

" _Your target is right there, where the heavy Androids are, but be advised, there are friendlies not fifty yards away, it's gonna be danger close."_

" _Solid copy on all. Hammer 1-2, target is marked on comms by a white square, areas of white diamonds are friendlies."_

" _Roger, this is Hammer 1-2, I'm going in. Danger close, over."_

 _"Don't miss."_

 _"I never miss. Going in hot."_

* * *

Time seemed to slow down as the melee continued.

Silver was aware that he was becoming more tired, but at the same time, he felt stronger as he blocked more and more strikes from that silver blade.

He caught her blade between his, and kicked out to her stomach, knocking her back, before sending a hail of blades towards her. She deflected several which came too close, before rolling to the side as the blades returned to latch themselves onto his back. She fired again, but he just held up the two swords and caught them on their thick blades.

There was a roar and they looked up to see an Atlas ground attack fighter flying in, and from underneath a missile fell before shooting down and smashing right in the middle of the Androids, blowing them apart.

The backblast sent the two flying back as dust engulfed them, but when Silver looked up it was to see his friends all rushing forwards, weapons out.

He spun around, trying to find Bronze, but it was to see her already shooting towards him, her blade out.

Silver dodged to the side, but as she passed him she smiled, and the blade twisted before the boost fired again, yanking her back and sending the blade through his shoulder.

He fell to his knees, the pain unbearable as he clenched his teeth shut.

* * *

"Silver!" Yang cried out in anger, eyes red and hair on fire again. She was held back by Ruby and Weiss before she could charge in.

Silver allowed his helmet to open, and he opened his eyes to look at them. They were watching with mixed expressions of fear and anger, but when he saw Pyrrha he gave a small smile and aimed his eyes towards something sticking on the ground, then up to the air.

Pyrrha didn't get it at first, but after another repeat and an aim at something to the side of the crater, she realized what he was trying to say, and nodded.

"Enough delay." Bronze spoke up, twisting the blade. More blood poured out and Silver let loose a short yell of pain. "I'm sick of you. You ruined everything. I'm done with you, I should have killed you all those years ago. And this time, you'll be sinking into the lava when I'm done with you."

He laughed, although it was forced. "Really? Why? What good will killing me have?"

Pyrrha raised a hand, and from it a black glow emitted. The soldiers around her seemed to realize that she was working something and stepped between her and Bronze as the dark glow covered her entire arm.

It was painful for Pyrrha, requiring fierce concentration to get through, but she could feel them give way and she raised her arm slowly. Sweat beaded down her brow as the glow started to cover her entire form, but she kept going.

"If you think you're getting away with this, then you're wrong." Bronze hissed, leaning over his shoulder. "Do you think about all those people who are dead because of you?"

"Many more would die. Besides, living under you would probably make them want to die."

She chuckled darkly. "Your days are over. Say goodbye to your loved ones, they'll be joining you soon anyway."

With a sudden roar, Silver shoved himself back, knocking Bronze away. He then tore the blade from his shoulder and struck her across the head with the grip. As she turned away, he grabbed both ends and got her in a chokehold, back to back, and he leaned forwards to lift Bronze off her feet.

"Let… go!" She yelled, struggling to free herself.

"This is for my brother!" Silver yelled, crouching down. The back of his suit glowed white, and there was a whistling from the air.

Everyone looked up to see several of Silver's blades in the air, having been floating up there, while the faintest hints of black faded from them.

And they were all flying towards Bronze, and as they flew they folded into themselves to change from bright metal to a bronze color.

Bronze started struggling as they shot towards her and she gave one last scream. "NOOO-!"

She was cut off by the sound of metal impaling into flesh and the sound of blood splashing to the ground.


	45. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44**

 **A/N: Near the end. Thank you all for your support. Leave a Review on what you think, and enjoy!**

* * *

Silver stood silently, blood dripping from his armor before he let go of the sword.

The body of his sister slid off silently, hitting the floor.

He took a shaky sigh before dropping the sword. He looked at his hands, which were cut from holding the silver sword, and the pain from his pierced shoulder ached immensely. His back also stung from the blades that missed, and although they hadn't pierced his skin they were sticking out of the back plates of his armor. He pulled some of them out as he started walking forwards.

"Silver!"

He looked up only to be knocked back as Yang hugged him tightly. He returned it as best as he could with his injured shoulder and cut hands. "Hey, Yang."

"You… You…" Yang pushed back a bit, casting a glance at Bronze's body.

"It was for the best." He smiled and kissed her. "I guess this war's over."

"We did it then." She returned the smile, leaning into him, as if exhausted, which she probably was. "Can we go home now?"

"One moment." He pulled back, looking down at the sword sitting on the floor. He picked it up before rearing his good arm back and throwing the sword into the lava, watching as it sank immediately. "Should we do the same with her?"

"Nah, she'll burn enough in hell." Yang grinned as they walked back. "Besides, that's kinda sick."

"Not as sick as her."

"True."

He took a breath. It felt like an enormous weight had been removed from his chest. He didn't feel any regret, only relief that such a monster was gone.

They let the soldiers do their thing as they walked back to the others. Ren and Nora were crouched next to Pyrrha, who was sitting to the side of the walkway, leaning back and exhausted. Silver smiled at her. "Thanks."

She smiled back. "That was a very good plan."

"Couldn't have worked without you. Are you alright?"

Pyrrha shook her head and laughed. "YOU are asking ME if I'm ok?"

"Well, you're the one who looks like they need a hospital."

"Have you seen yourself?"

Silver knew he didn't look much better. He took off the helmet and ran a hand through his hair, which was damp with sweat. "I just… can't believe it's over."

"It's not. Technically." Ren stood up. "There's still fighting going on, and the rest of the Allegiance isn't going to just stand down peacefully after they hear about this."

"Always the killjoy, eh, Ren?" Yang rolled her eyes.

As they continued their banter, Silver looked back to see the soldiers looking over the body of his sister.

"Are… you ok?"

He looked down to see Ruby looking up at him. He smiled and looked back up. "No. Not really."

She looked queasy seeing the bloody body but looked back up at him. "I mean, you had to kill your sister…"

"She's not my family." He replied. "She wasn't since the day she killed my brother."

Ruby hugged him from the side, and he put an arm around her. "I'm glad you're ok."

"Ok?" He chuckled, pointing to the bloody wound, which was slowly healing from his replenishing aura. "This stings like crazy!"

She couldn't help but laugh at that, but her face turned serious. "What do we do now?"

"Hmm?"

"Like Ren said," she nodded back. "They aren't going to just… give up, are they?"

"I guess not, but that's for the negotiators. And besides, I don't think a negotiation with Yang is going to go well, do you?"

Ruby shuddered at the image of Yang beating up peace delegates, and she nodded.

"I guess it must be hard." He spoke quietly. "I mean… I killed my little sister, right?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"You need to understand, Ruby." He looked up as a Bullhead flew down the crater to pick them up. "Sometimes, people become twisted, and you have to stop them at all costs. You have to push away any connection to them that might make you hesitate. In this case, it wasn't hard, but she was still my sister.

"But she was evil, and she had to be stopped. Tell me, if one of your family was to do the same, would you kill them to save a million lives?"

Ruby looked down, hiding her eyes in the shadow of her helmet. "I-I…"

"Well, actually, don't."

She looked up.

"Your family's awesome. There's no way any of them would do such a thing." Silver smiled. "And I hope I can be part of yours soon."

Ruby tilted her head. "Huh? What does that mean?"

"You'll see." He smiled. He then walked over to Yang, put an arm around her and kissed her as they walked to the Bullhead.

Ruby just stared after them, before sprinting after them. "H-Hey! Wait for me!"

* * *

"Well, look who it is!"

"Hello doctor, long time no see."

"Well, it was only nine days and seven hours, how could I forget?"

Ruby and the others watched the exchange between the medic in the bay and Silver as she treated his wounds, wrapping his hands in bandages. She wore white armor with Purple highlights and a large medical badge on her armor. She also had small glasses, light brown hair pulled in a ponytail and a really large smile on her face.

"I told you that you'd get hurt, so I guess you lose the bet!"

Silver sighed. "I'll pay you when we get back."

"Why does she sound like Blake?" Nora whispered.

"She does if Blake was very cheerful and a bit cuckoo," Ruby whispered back.

"I heard that!" The doctor suddenly appeared in front of them, and the two jumped. "I don't think we've met. My name's doctor Grey, but you can call me Emily!"

"It's… nice to meet you." Ruby replied, shaking her hand. "Umm… how do you know my friends?"

"Oh, I was stationed at the base in Vacuo where they rescued Herman Vulcan! I also helped your sister during the resulting party that night, after she slipped and hit her head on the corner of a table."

Ruby gasped. "Was she drunk?! I'm so sorry for her behavior, she didn't punch anyone or break anything, did she?!"

"Hey!" Yang glared at her, although she did seem more nervous for some reason.

"Oh, don't worry. She was absolutely wonderful! She hadn't touched a single drop of alcohol that night, which was a good thing as it certainly wouldn't do for the developing mind and body."

"H-Hey, doc…" Yang laughed nervously. "I'm not that old. Just past eighteen."

"Not you, silly! Oh, wait, you haven't told them?" She stared at Yang, who looked around in a panic.

"N-No, I… haven't…"

"REALLY?!" Emily shrieked so loudly everyone covered their ears, even the pilot, who quickly leveled the Bullhead as it tilted slightly. "But it's so important! How have you not?!"

"Umm… what's going on?" Silver spoke up.

"Yeah… We're not exactly following this conversation." Pyrrha nodded.

"Oh, I'm so excited! I've always wanted to say this!" Emily looked like she would burst from excitement, but she quickly cleared her throat and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "During ms. Xiao-Long's visit, I decided to do a checkup on her while I waited for the sedatives of the operation to wear out-"

"Operation?!" Yang interrupted, eyes wide. "What operation?! I just hit my head on a table!"

Emily laughed nervously. "Nevermind about that! Anyway…" Her face turned serious. "I decided to do a checkup and found something rather interesting… I told ms. Xiao-Long and she reacted in a rather normal way for anyone to be in her situation - meaning, she fainted."

Ruby stared at Yang, who shuffled nervously. "Yang? Fainting? Is it that bad? She's not sick, is she?!"

"Nothing of the sort!" Emily shook her head with a smile. "And, well, Silver, I can tell you now-"

"W-Wait!" Yang spoke up again, but Emily clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Don't spoil the moment!"

Silver looked between them. "What is going on?"

"It's simple!" Emily clapped her hands together as Yang panicked, eyes wide. "You, Silver, are going to be a dad!"

Silence.

"...wha…?" Silver replied dumbly.

"I did a scan of ms. Xiao-Long, and it looks like she is almost two months pregnant!" She squealed. "You're going to be the father of two twins, isn't that exciting?! Oh, I've always wanted to tell a couple they're having children, it brings tears to my eyes!"

"I…" Silver looked to Yang, who was now sweating. "You kept that a secret from me?"

"It-It's not that simple!" She burst out. "I was scared! I-I didn't mean for this to happen! Besides, I didn't think you'd let me go with you if I told you!"

"Of course I wouldn't!" Silver yelled. "You're… You're…!"

They fell silent again.

"Yang…?" Ruby stared at her. "You are pregnant? As in, you're gonna have babies?"

"Yes, Ruby." She replied, red-faced.

"Does that mean… I'm GONNA BE AN AUNTIE?!"

Yang looked up as Ruby hugged her tightly, eyes shining. When Yang nodded, she squealed with delight and started dancing around the Bullhead.

Silver pushed himself up and sat next to Yang. "I'm sorry for yelling, but… I'm gonna be a father? And you kept it a secret from me?"

Yang looked down, and tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. "I'm… I'm sorry, but… I didn't want to put this on you."

"Are you joking?" Silver let out a loud laugh and hugged her tightly. "You're carrying my two children! Twins, Yang, twins! I'm gonna be a dad!"

Yang smiled and hugged him back, tears flowing freely.

Pyrrha wiped her own eyes from the scene, and Ren smiled as he handed a tissue to Nora, who blew her nose loudly into it. When she looked up, she had a questioning look on her face. "Hey, Yang, I have a question."

"Go ahead." She smiled, wiping her eyes.

"How's your dad going to react to this?"

The mood of the Bullhead plummeted faster than a shot-down fighter plane.

"Oh gods…" Silver fell back in his seat. "Your dad's going to kill me…"

Images of Taiyang Xiao-Long finding out he'd impregnated one of his daughters shot through their minds, and they all shivered, even the pilot and soldiers on board, who'd all heard of the legendary Sun Dragon.

"If you want, I can slow down the return journey." The pilot called from the cockpit.

"Yes please." Silver sighed, sliding back and putting an arm around his eyes. "Let's just delay my death as long as possible."

"Hey, where's uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked.

* * *

Qrow sat down, panting for breath. "Finally..."

He sat down on a literal mountain of destruction, a stack of several destroyed jeeps, tanks and mechs, even a crashed fighter, and around him were hundreds of destroyed Androids and unconscious soldiers.

"Well, I call that mission success." He sighed as he pulled out his flask. He looked behind him when he heard movement.

"Don't... move..."

He turned to see a young Steel mech pilot aiming a pistol at him as he slowly pulled himself out of one of the mechs. He pulled the trigger, but instead of a bang, there was a hollow click. The pilot's eyes widened as he pulled the trigger, again and again, all met with an empty clicking.

Qrow just held out the flask. "You done?"

The man fell silent, before dropping the gun and pulling himself forwards next to Qrow, although he refused the drink.

"So the war's over?" He asked as Qrow took a swig from the flask.

"Seems like it." He nodded, watching a formation of Atlas fighters fly through the air, before they all separated, all doing a victory roll over the battlefield. Qrow then turned to the soldier next to him and grinned. "So as far as I know, you're just another random guy. What's your name, kid?"

"Private Oum, sir..."

"Really? What were you before the war sucked you up? And don't call me sir."

"A... graphics designer and animator for an entertainment company."

"Hmm... So you wanna hear a story? Maybe you could make it into a tv show or movie or something."

"Yeah... I'd love to."

"Right." Qrow leaned back. "You might wanna get a notebook for this. It all started several months ago..."


	46. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45**

 **A/N: The action of the story is over. Now, it's pretty much wrapping up the story, the falling action. Thank you all so much who took the time to read this story to the end, this is my first real story to finish and I hope to have more in the future. It took a long time to make, and I appreciate all of those who wrote in a review, who favorited and followed my story. It gave me the motivation to keep going. But for now, I hope you all enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

 _One Week later…_

" _Citizens across the kingdoms are rejoicing at the news of the successful invasion of the Allegiance of Steel's main base of operations in the ocean last week. Scores of Allegiance soldiers are surrendering across the kingdoms, but fighting still continues in Vacuo and Mistral, and with Android units on the loose continuing to fight from bases. A joint-kingdom task force assigned as "Metal" are working together to finish off the last of the fighting and rogue units. A new peace treaty and formal surrender has been signed by the remaining leaders of the Allegiance and the first hours of peace are beginning. Vale has officially been declared as safe, with no more rogue units in the kingdom, prompting a city-wide celebration in honor of the Second Great War."_

Jaune sighed as he looked out across the city of Vale, leaning on the railing of the balcony as the tv ran from his room. Fireworks lit up the evening sky and the streets were packed with people, all celebrating and cheering at the tops of their lungs. Bullheads and fighters flew across the sky and the Atlas cruisers floating above the walls fired into the sky.

"Hello Jaune."

He looked up and smiled as Pyrrha walked up, dressed in a red shirt and black jeans. He walked up to her and hugged her. "Hi, Pyrrha. How are you?"

"I should be asking you that." She placed a hand on his head, which was wrapped with a thick bandage. "Your injury was really bad."

"I'm fine. They'll release me in a few days." He sighed, looking out at the balcony again, with Pyrrha standing next to him.

"I know that's not everything. Are you really alright?"

He lowered his head. "There was a guy… who I killed." He took a deep breath. "It… was horrible, but to be honest, if I hadn't killed him, it would have been me buried in a grave."

"Jaune…"

"I'm alright." He looked up, smiling. "After all, I've still got a team to lead, eh? No use moping on what happened."

Pyrrha smiled and they both watched the fireworks.

"We've got schoolwork to catch up in Beacon." Pyrrha broke the silence, attempting conversation. "The school year's already started..."

"WHAT?!" Jaune yelled, eyes wide before he slumped down, arm hanging over the railing. "Crap, I forgot all about it… All that work, nooo..."

Pyrrha laughed. "Well, at least we'll get to see our friends."

"Yeah, about that… Yang's pregnant with twins?"

"Yes, and she's getting married soon with Silver." Pyrrha looked up at the stars beyond the fireworks. "She asked if I would be willing to teach their children to fight when they're old enough."

"As huntsmen?"

"Yes." She grinned. "I wonder how they'll be like?"

"Well, if they're anything like Yang, I dread to think what will happen to the school."

They both laughed, remembering some very fond and not-so-fond memories from before the war when all they had to worry about was homework and food fights - although the latter was a legitimate concern at the time.

"So, when are you planning to settle down?"

"Huh?"

Pyrrha tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I mean, with someone… have you ever considered it? After being a huntsman?"

Jaune looked back and shook his head. "Nah, haven't thought that far ahead. Besides, who'd want to go out with me?"

He looked up as Pyrrha moved right next to him. "You have no idea, Jaune."

"Huh? What-"

He was cut off as Pyrrha leaned in and kissed him on the lips. His eyes widened and his face burned, but he didn't pull away. They then broke off, Jaune gaping at her. "Wha…?"

"Jaune, I… I've always admired you," Pyrrha confessed, her face red. "You didn't know me when we first met, and you treated me like I was a normal person, even after you found out about me being a champion. You still treated me the same, when everyone else wouldn't. And… you're always so nice, and I guess I started gaining an attraction to you."

"P-Pyrrha-"

"That's why I want to say this to you." She squeezed her eyes shut, cheeks crimson. "Jaune Arc, I… I've fallen for you! I'm in love with you! And have been for a very long time! Is it alright if I... we can be together? As a couple?"

Silence. Then there was a thump, and her eyes snapped open.

Jaune Arc laid on the floor, having fainted, his face completely red and eyes rolled to the back of his head. Pyrrha quickly bent down to pick him up, smiling when he saw that he also wore a small smile.

She dragged him into the room. "I… don't know if it worked."

"Of course it did!" Ruby cheered, with Blake, Weiss, Yang, Silver, Ren, Nora, Sun and Neptune all standing at the back of the room. "Congratulations!"

Pyrrha blushed again, not that her face wasn't red already, but Ren helped to place Jaune back in the bed.

"When's the wedding?!" Nora asked, jumping up and down with excitement. "First Yang's and Silver's, now Pyrrha and Jauney! It'll be so awesome!"

"Y-You're thinking too far ahead!" Pyrrha waved her arms back and forth. "I just want to see how it works out!"

"Fine." Nora pouted. "Right, well, Blake! Sun! When's yours?"

Both Faunus were caught off guard, and both looked at each other before blushing and looking away. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Oh, it's the year that the wedding bells will toll!" Nora sang, clapping her hands.

"Seriously, is he alright?" Neptune shot a glance at Jaune, who was still knocked out.

"I'll stay here and look after him. You all can go if you want." Pyrrha smiled as she sat down on a chair next to his bed.

"Yeah, let's go party!" Sun cheered, throwing an arm around Blake. She didn't protest as they walked out the door, prompting a grin from Nora as she followed. Ren nodded a farewell as he left, as did Ruby, and Weiss helped Neptune out the door, who was still using a crutch to support himself.

"Congratulations." Silver smiled. "Say the same to Jaune when he wakes up."

"Ooh, already in bed with him on the night of proposal!" Yang teased, and Pyrrha blushed again. "Still, I approve. You go, girl!"

"Th-Thanks." She leaned back in her chair. "Have fun."

"We will." Silver smiled, placing an arm around Yang's waist and kissing her on the cheek as they left. Yang made sure to show her engagement ring to Pyrrha with a raised eyebrow before she left.

Pyrrha sighed as the door closed.

"Yes…"

She looked down at Jaune, who was now mumbling something.

"What is it, Jaune?"

"Yes." He replied, opening his eyes and looking at her. His eyes were sparkling, and he wore, quite possibly, the largest grin on Remnant. "Yes, I'll be your boyfriend."

Pyrrha leaned over and hugged him, and he hugged her back, both lying in the bed as the fireworks continued to boom and crackle across the sky.

* * *

 _Two weeks later…_

Sun sat on the top of the church spire, eating a banana as he looked at the scene below while tugging at the tie around his neck. He hated those things, but Blake was VERY serious about the need to dress formally.

The wedding of Yang and Silver. They'd made arrangements for Silver to become part of Yang's family, and now he was Silvester Xiao-Long. Everyone was happy for them, and it showed from the after-celebration.

Taiyang… was not so pleased as they'd expected. In fact, only by deploying Paladins did they manage to stop him from tearing Silver apart. But after he'd cooled down, Tai now seemed impatient about the birth of his grandchildren. In fact, he was chatting with Ozpin, Ironwood, Glynda, and Qrow, the latter of whom didn't really accept their marriage as much as he showed. At the moment, Qrow had an arm around Silver and was congratulating him, although the groom's blue face suggested strangulation, which Yang quickly solved with a quick punch to her uncle's head.

He looked up at the sound of someone landing on the ground behind him. He sighed and tossed the empty banana peel away, and turned.

"Where is she?" Adam Taurus faced him.

"Who? Weiss, or Blake?"

Adam glared at him. "Both."

Sun shrugged. "Well, Weiss is down there, if you want to bother looking for her, and Blake's down there as well. So be my guest if you wanna fight all of them."

Sun found the blade pressed to his throat yet again. "I'm not here for games."

"And neither am I. In fact, I'm merely passing on a message."

"What?"

Sun held out a light blue envelope. "In here, you'll find some information to a person of much higher value than Weiss Schnee. You'll also find some coordinates to the place where you'll meet them."

Adam looked down at it. "Is this a joke?"

He shrugged. "You look in there. It's all legit. And also, you can just come back and kill one of my friends if it's wrong."

"Hmm. You are indeed correct on that last part." He pulled back the blade and sheathed it, before taking the envelope and tucking it into his jacket pocket.

"And I expect you'll keep your end of the deal?"

He looked up. "Blake Belladonna is not my concern anymore. I will not attempt to harm her."

"Good." Sun grinned. "Because we're planning to go on our own endeavor of our own soon. She's gotta see her family on Menagerie, and I doubt her father will be pleased if you killed his daughter."

Adam just nodded. "Very well. You are off the kill list, but should you interfere with our operations in the future…"

"Oh, you know," Sun waved an arm as he pulled out another banana from his pocket. "After what we offer you? You'll pretty much bow down and kiss our feet right here and now."

"Tch." Adam turned and jumped onto the edge of the tower. "Farewell, Sun Wu Kong. I have one last request."

Sun raised an eyebrow. "Shoot."

"Look after Blake for me. She showed potential when she grew up, and I loved her dearly. But I guess our different views doomed our relationship." He looked back at him. "I know you, somehow, hold the key to her happiness, and I wish you luck."

Sun just stared as Adam leaped off and disappeared. He then shrugged, taking a bite from the banana.

"Sun?! Where are you?!"

He peeked over the edge and grinned, before jumping off, catching a flagpole with his tail and dropped upside down right in front of Blake, who jumped. "Hey, Blakey!"

"Why were you up there?" Her eyes narrowed and arms crossed.

"I'm a monkey, climbing's what I do." He shrugged, taking another bite from his banana.

Blake just sighed. "I was looking for you for a long time, Sun. Don't disappear like that again."

He dropped down next to her and put an arm around her. "You know I would never do that! C'mon, let's go check out the new couple!"

Blake smiled again, one that was just a bit brighter than her normal ones, one that often showed when he was around. "Ok, Sun, let's go."

Sun smiled as they walked towards the others, but Adam's words still rang in his mind.

" _I know you, somehow, hold the key to her happiness. I wish you luck."_

"I promise," Sun whispered quietly to himself.

"What was that, Sun?" Blake looked at him.

"Nothing, Blake. C'mon!" Sun ran forwards, dragging Blake behind her, who laughed. Sun smiled at that. Maybe Adam was right. Seeing Blake happy really was special to him.


	47. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46**

 **A/N: I am SO SORRY for the late uploads, but schools been a bastard on me, as well as the fact my weekend was taken by trips with my family. I hope that more chapters will arrive soon, but I can't make any promises, what with this week being very busy with essays and quizzes. The things I do for my audience... but I love you all, and without anymore whining, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Two weeks later…_

"I don't get it. Your name is _Neptune_."

"No water! Please, no water!"

"It's fine, Nep. We're gonna cure you of your fear today!"

"PLEASE NO! WEISS, HELP ME!"

Ren and Sun continued to drag Neptune down the beach by his legs while he desperately tried to escape, clawing at the sand. Weiss just shook her head with a smile while Blake was sniggering silently behind her hand and Nora was openly laughing.

They were all on a beach near Vacuo, which Weiss had invited them on. They would be beginning the new year at Beacon the next week, so they were all relaxing before they had to go back to school.

Well, all except for Yang. Because of her pregnancy, she wouldn't be able to complete as a student, but Ozpin and Glynda had arranged for her to have a job as an assistant to Glynda. She'd get her huntress license after four years in her new job, so she could still become a fighter against the Grimm, which had come back, although in smaller numbers than before the war. And now with the militarized kingdoms, they had all decided to wage war against the creatures of death together.

Right now, Yang was playing a round of beach volleyball with Silver against Whitely and Ruby. It was a pretty intense match, with Ruby's speed on par with Silver's bulk. They'd been going for six minutes straight now. Jaune and Pyrrha were both trying out surfing, although, of course, Jaune kept wiping out on every wave. He still laughed every time as did Pyrrha. Blake and Nora were both content with watching Sun and Ren trying to teach Neptune to swim.

Weiss walked to a sun lounger and sat down with a drink. She smiled as she saw Taiyang walk up, drying himself with a towel. "How is the vacation, Mr. Xiao Long?"

"It's wonderful." He replied, smiling. "Thank you so much for letting us come. And also, call me Tai."

"It's no problem." She shrugged. "Where's Mr. Branwen?"

"Qrow's out at the bar. I don't think it was a good idea to let him have free drinks, to be honest."

Weiss sighed. "Honestly, how bad can it be?"

"Well, I saw him there and… you don't want to know how much he's consumed."

"That bad?"

He nodded, grinning awkwardly. "Yeah… I hope you have a lot of money at hand."

"More than you can imagine." She replied with a smile. "Oh, by the way, can I ask you a favor?"

"Go ahead."

"Can you teach Neptune to swim? Frankly, his fear of water is getting ridiculous, and it might hinder him in the future."

Tai looked out and watched as Neptune broke free from Ren and Sun and quickly shot up a palm tree, hanging on for dear life. He even tried to kick back Sun, who followed him up.

"Fine." Tai sighed, before jogging over. Weiss raised an eyebrow as Tai started shaking the tree, and Neptune fell down before Tai grabbed him and carried him towards the sea over his shoulder.

Weiss felt a bit guilty from Neptune's screaming, but it was better this way. After all, they'd be learning how to swim in Beacon for the new year, and she'd dread to think how it would affect Neptune's grades.

She put down her drink and stood up as Sun approached, and they both headed towards the resort.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Sun asked. "I mean, this isn't what I had exactly planned exactly… I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Weiss sighed. "Besides, it's time we finish this."

They walked into the resort restaurant to find Diana sitting there with a pair of sunglasses and a black cap. She nodded to them as they sat down opposite her. "Hey."

"So how's the new job?" Weiss asked.

"Captured Steel leaders are still bastards. All they do is call me a traitor and all that. Usually, takes a bit more _persuasion_ to get them to actually talk about the real problems and to get to the point."

"I don't wanna know what that means." Sun leaned back. "So can we trust you with the info?"

She nodded. "Jacques Schnee will find himself under fire after some classified files are "leaked" to the public. But Weiss… he _is_ your father."

"He's done a lot of bad things." Weiss sighed. "Many people will benefit from his resignation and I think the White Fang attacks will cease against the workers once they know who is to really blame for this."

"After that, Whitely Schnee will take over, and start with a new modeling of the Schnee Dust Corporation, especially the Faunus miner's conditions." Diana finished. "I gotta admit, your brother's more mature than he puts on."

"What do you mean?"

Diana pointed. Walking up the pathway towards the rooms were Whitely and Ruby. Whitely's skin was unusually red on his back and neck from sunburn and he was wincing in pain, while Ruby was leading him by the hand and scolding him.

"He's only fifteen." Weiss shook her head.

"He's gonna officially take over the company in a few days," Sun spoke up. "I think it will be best if this goes out in a way that seems like an accident."

"You remember the operation in Atlas? The one where Whitely got shot?"

Weiss winced and looked after her brother. Even from that distance, the scar across the side of his neck was visible. "How could I?"

"Well, it _was_ a security breach. A couple of firewalls could have "accidentally" been broken, and the files could suddenly show up in one of the computers. And a random worker would have stumbled upon this and reported it." Diana leaned back in her seat.

"How convenient." Weiss smiled. "You really work wonders, don't you?"

"Yup. Now here's to your brother successfully passing on the message."

"Adam Taurus should hear this." Sun closed his eyes. "And he should find some more documents about the Faunus discrimination ordered by him at that village in Mistral we told him about."

"He'll also have info that Jacques has disappeared to go to Mistral as well. Enough of a lead to pinpoint to a city, but Jacques will receive a tip of this and will be able to escape."

Weiss continued from Diana. "And then we'll have kept our promise to Adam and he'll have no reason to come back against us. But are you sure he'll see it that way?"

"Trust me, he won't." Sun nodded.

"Very well." Diana smiled and stood up. "Good meeting you all. By the way, how is Silver doing?"

"He's over the moon." Sun grinned. "He's really taking the new father role in stride. And I gotta admit, when he sparred against Tai a few weeks ago, you could see how much they mean to him."

Diana chuckled. "Tell him I wish him luck. I'd better go and get everything ready." She then stood up. "It was nice meeting you all again."

"You too. Be safe." They waved as she left.

"So should we go back?" Sun asked.

A scream pierced through the air, high-pitched, but they both knew it was from Neptune. It did make them flinch though, but they then stood up as gunfire sounded and Yang rushed by. "What's happening?"

"Grimm!" Yang yelled as she passed. "It's a salamander-looking thing with tentacles! And it's got Neptune!"

Both of them winced at that, as well as the continued screaming from Neptune and a piercing roar.

"Well, there goes our plan to cure him of his fears." Sun shook his head as they followed Yang to the rooms to get their weapons.

Weiss couldn't help but laugh. "Let's just go save him, alright?"

* * *

" _An employee at the Business and Management Center in Atlas has submitted in documents that he found on an open computer, revealing several secrets of the Schnee Dust Company's CEO, Jacques Schnee, having kept. The employee had found these documents while attempting to fix a bug in the server room and found the firewalls open to this treasure trove of secrets. It seems that Jacques has many dirty secrets meant to be hidden from the public, such as worker exploitation, cuts in safety funding, and much, much more. An investigation team has currently determined that, if caught, Jacques could be sentenced to life in prison, but he has since disappeared. His son, Whitely Schnee, has since taken over the company and upon finding out about his father's actions has been determined to clean up his wrongdoings. He recently made an announcement about his future plans."_

Whitely Schnee appeared on the screen, occasionally lit up by the flashes of cameras as he stood on a podium outside his residence. "It sickens me to see how my father treated others, and I seek to redeem that. He has continuously lowered wages and forced his - and now my - workers into horrible conditions. He even refused to pull out miners from the deep Dust mines after the reinforcements ran out, leading to the collapse that left fifteen Faunus dead a few weeks ago."

He took a deep breath. "It… It's really hard for me to find out about my father, whom I looked up to my whole life, to have orchestrated this… But as the new CEO of the Schnee Dust Company, I aim to end the suffering of my workers and I want to see this change now."

Whitely left the podium, ignoring the shouted questions from the reporters as he disappeared behind the door to his house.

"Are you alright?"

Whitely looked up to see Ruby and Weiss standing in the hall. He sighed as he shut the door, blocking off the cameras and reporters, while Weiss switched off the tv nearby. "Yes, I'm fine. Just… difficult truths."

"Those Faunus are going to need you," Ruby spoke up, worried.

"I know." He straightened up and gave them a small smile. "You don't need to tell me."

"Are you sure you will be alright?"

"I'll get by." He traced a finger over his scar. "I've gone through worse."


	48. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47**

 **A/N: So I am currently posting a new chapter, and the reason it is late is that of homework, schoolwork, but also because of something else.**

 **I am currently deciding on a new story to write. By my choice, but I am letting my imagination run free to decide on a new fanfiction I can make.**

 **I have many ideas, including a TITANFALL 2 fanfiction, where Jack Cooper's son is sent on a mission to find another ark weapon on Remnant and take on the Apex Predators (Titanfall lore), a story with a HALO GUARDIANS theme, about a single Promethean AI construct that can control the planet Remnant as it is a Forerunner world, who is in the form of a 15-year-old boy (possible OCxRuby)... the list goes on and on.**

 **I'm even thinking of making a BATTLEFIELD BAD COMPANY crossover, with teams RWBY becoming Bravo team of the 222nd in a war against the Russians, following the same story but with different characters in RWBY being represented in the story. I mean, they all seem to fit so well together with them. Or even a crossover where the squad meet each other and realize how similar they are... personality-wise, I mean.**

 **So many to choose from, but for now, I'm focusing on finding one which I can finish. This fanfiction was an experiment to test out my writing skills, and I appreciate all of you who took the time to read and comment on this. We're almost finished, and without further a due, here's the next chapter.**

* * *

 _Many months later…_

Ruby quickly slashed through the last of the Beowulfs, sighing with relief before rushing off to the next bunch to kill.

"Jeez, Rubes, calm down for a sec." Coco Adel snagged her by the cape as she passed. The barrels of her minigun were bright red from the sheer amount of bullets she'd fired. "I know you're excited about this job, but rest a bit, will ya?"

The joint Atlas-Vale mission to reclaim the failed expansion of Vale was underway, with the city planning to finally spread out against the Grimm. Huntsmen and huntresses in training were all taking part in the fighting and were making incredible progress.

"I have to agree with Coco, Ruby. It's… unusual to see you this restless." Velvet walked up, allowing her own weapon - a copy of Coco's minigun - to shimmer away. "Why the rush?"

"It's Yang!" She panted, sweat pouring down her brow and cheeks red from exhaustion. "She's expecting soon!"

"Really?" The two members of team CFVY gasped. "The twins?"

"YES!" She hopped up and down, giddy with excitement. "Dad and Silver are at the hospital now! I need to finish as soon as possible so we can go see her!"

"Why not go now? I'm sure they'll let you."

She fidgeted a bit at that.

"Ah. You don't wanna let them fight alone?"

Ruby nodded. A scream sounded from above, and she gasped and fired Crescent Rose into the air. The result was a Beowulf sent crashing to the ground and the relieved thanks from the two Vale soldiers on the open apartments next to them. "I don't want to let these people alone to the Grimm. I can save them!"

Coco and Velvet looked to each other. Coco then grabbed her water bottle and emptied it on her gun, cooling the barrels before she picked it up. "Then let's go, then. The sooner we kick these Grimm up their arses and finish the mission, the sooner you can see your nephews and become an aunt."

"Wouldn't they be nieces, though?" Velvet asked as she summoned a copy of Ruby's scythe and chambered a round. "Why boys?"

"I don't care!" Ruby grinned. "I'm so excited! Let's do this!"

She fired a shot behind her to propel herself and flew past the soldiers ahead, who cheered and followed her, pushing against the Grimm swarm. The two women looked at each other and smiled, before raising their weapons and unleashing their firepower onto a flock of Nevermore which was chasing an Atlas fighter.

* * *

"Dad!"

Ruby rushed through the doors with Blake and Weiss behind her, all panting from the run to the hospital. She looked around and spotted Tai with his back to her, dressed in a green hospital uniform. She ran up but slowed when she saw his face.

Tears were pouring from his eyes.

"Dad?" Ruby swallowed, suddenly nervous and scared. "Is… everything alright? Is Yang ok?"

"She's fine." He swallowed and smiled at her. "Say hi to your nephew, Ruby."

Her eyes widened as he turned around, revealing a small blue blanket in his arms, and she shot forwards in a cloud of rose petals.

"Thank god." Blake sighed with relief. Weiss also smiled and they followed their team leader. She turned to them, a wide smile on her face.

"Look at him!" She cooed, swaying gently. "He's beautiful!"

A small face poked from the blankets, eyes closed, but when he opened them it revealed bright lilac eyes. The baby then looked between them before holding his hands out, a small, almost unnoticeable smile on his lips.

"He's adorable." Weiss held out a finger and the baby clutched it. "He's got his mother's eyes."

Ruby held up the boy, but when he leaned in his face scrunched up and he pushed Ruby away clumsily.

"What's wrong?"

"I think it's because we haven't showered," Blake spoke up, wiping sweat from her brow. "I don't think we smell so good."

They looked up when the doors at the back of the room opened, revealing Silver, in a green uniform and a mask around his neck. Like Tai, he had tears in his eyes and he walked to them, a pink blanket in his hands. "Want to meet my daughter?"

Blake walked up and smiled when she saw two small ears on the top of the baby's head. "A snow wolf? Like her father?"

He nodded, before wiping his eyes. "Yang's fast asleep, she's exhausted, but she's going to see her children after she wakes up." He smiled, cradling the baby in his arms. "She also has silver eyes like me and Ruby."

The baby's eyes fluttered open, and small silver eyes looked up at Blake, before turning to Silver. She then held out her hands and Silver brought her up to his face and let her examine him, laughing softly.

"Congratulations," Blake whispered to Tai.

"That I'm a grandfather now?" He smiled. "Wow, now I feel old."

Blake shook her head with a smile. Team JNPR rushed in and Nora responded much like Ruby, squealing with delight and having to be held back by Ren, while Jaune and Pyrrha walked up to Silver and greeted his daughter.

"Congrats, man." Jaune smiled and clapped Silver on the back while Pyrrha cradled his daughter. "What about names?"

"What, you suggest I name my son after you? Fat chance." He laughed, punching him lightly on the shoulder. "I have to wait till Yang wakes up, then we decide."

"Let us know." Pyrrha smiled, lightly bouncing with the baby girl in her arms. "We can't wait."

* * *

"For the last time dad, we're NOT calling him Tai!"

"Why not? It's a perfectly good name!"

Silver and Ruby both stood awkwardly to the side while Tai and Yang were arguing. Yang had woken up only an hour later with no worse for wear, but she was now arguing about the children's names.

Silver sighed. "Guys, please can we tone it down a bit? You might wake them up."

"Silver, please tell this old man that we can't name my son after him." Yang pleaded. "It's just weird!"

"No, it's not!" He protested. "My grandfather had the same name!"

Silver stepped forwards. "I have a suggestion. How about… How about Gordon?"

"Huh?" They looked at him. "Why?"

He smiled and looked down. "Gordon… he was my older brother, Gold. I told you about him."

They both looked at each other, before nodding. "Y'know… Gordon doesn't sound so bad. And for his memory, right?"

"Better than Tai, at least," Yang grumbled.

"Hey, I take offense to that!"

Silver sighed and turned to Ruby as the two began to argue. "How about my daughter? Ruby, any suggestions?"

She looked up. "Umm… I dunno. Maybe… Um… How about Summer?"

Tai and Yang fell silent at that.

"Summer…" He looked down to his daughter in Ruby's arms. "That's a nice name. Yang?"

She remained silent but then nodded. "I like it. Dad?"

He smiled wearily, but happily. "Sure. I think it's a great name, Rubes."

"Gordon and Summer." Silver chuckled. "I love it."

The two babies continued to sleep in their arms, oblivious to the conversation and their naming.

* * *

 _Three months later…_

"And with the closing of the year, I congratulate you all for completing your first year of Beacon. More wait for the future, and will undoubtedly be hard for many of you, but for now, you may enjoy your summer break."

Ozpin watched as the students all burst into cheers and applause, talking to one another joyfully now that the end of the year had come.

"It's good to see everything going back to normal." Glynda smiled.

"Good is subjective. After all, the Grimm are now back."

She still held her smile. "But we are now all unified against the creatures of death. We have taken back the failed expansion and now have a real chance to successfully fight back against the Grimm threat and expand our borders."

He nodded. "I guess there's always a silver lining." He then turned his head and smiled. "And speaking of which…"

They both spotted a small crowd of students, and in the middle were Yang and Silver, both holding up their two children. The two Beacon staff both walked towards them and saw that many of the other students were all chatting and talking with Yang and Silver. Gordon was currently basking in the attention and being passed around the crowd joyfully, but Summer was shyly hugging Silver, her own wolf ears flat on her head.

"Hello, Silver." Ozpin walked through the crowd and smiled at them. "It is wonderful to meet you again."

He smiled and shook Ozpin's hand. "It's been a wonderful year, sir. This is Summer, my daughter."

Summer looked up at her name mentioned.

"So this is my future pupil?" Ozpin chuckled. "Well, if I live that long. How old are they now?"

"Three months." Silver smiled, kissing Summer's forehead. "It's a joy to have them."

"That I believe." He nodded, and he turned to Yang. "I do hope you are ready for your new job?"

"Yep!" She replied, grinning. "Went over the material, should be a piece of cake! And if they don't take me seriously, well…" She cracked her knuckles. "They have another thing coming."

Summer whined at that, as if embarrassed, and they all laughed.

"Well, looks like you all are set for the future. I wish you all the best."

"Thanks, sir." Silver grinned. "Thank you for accepting me into this school."

"We already talked about this, many months ago." Ozpin smiled. "Are you still questioning my decision?"

"Not at all, sir. Not at all."


	49. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48**

* * *

 _Months later…_

Red eyes glared from the tree branches.

A house sat nearby, a two-story one with a large back porch that led to a large garden that was connected to a wood that was part of the Vale public park. Large floor-to-ceiling sliding doors separated the night from the inhabitants.

Silver sat on the floor of the living room on the other side of the glass, reading a story from a book while his two children listened, with Summer sitting on his lap and Gordon hanging from his shoulder. Both were already one year old and aging well.

The door to the room opened from the inside and the two children jumped up and crawled to Ruby, who laughed as she bent down and hugged them.

The red eyes narrowed as Yang walked in from behind, and she sat down next to Silver and kissed him while they watched Ruby roll on the floor with her children.

"Don't."

Raven Branwen looked up to find Qrow sitting in the trees, his own red eyes narrowed at his sister.

"Hello, brother."

"Don't _hello brother_ me. I want to know what you're doing here."

She looked back through the leaves she was hiding in. "I came here to see them, of course."

Qrow scoffed. "Yeah, right. The daughter who you abandoned, for the clan. Damn everyone else in the world and all that crap."

Raven sighed.

"If you even think of hurting them…" Qrow warned.

"I don't." Raven interrupted him. "I just came to watch how my daughter is going."

"Like you ever cared about her."

Raven turned to Qrow. "The clan is dead."

"Huh?"

"The Grimm." Raven gave a small smile. "Do you wonder why they disappeared during the war?"

Qrow realized. "The Queen. She would have used the opportunity to wipe us out."

"I'm surprised you didn't notice."

"Look, there were other things at stake." He snapped. "Now what are you trying to say?"

"After the war began, the Queen tried to invade. She gathered her forces in the Grimmlands and was going to sweep across the land." She sighed. "So we, the clan, couldn't pass the opportunity to end it there and then. All the Grimm at once, with the Queen and her minions."

Qrow fell silent. "And?"

"They're all dead." Raven's grip on the branch tightened. "We slaughtered thousands, if not millions, of the monsters. But the Queen still lives, and more are spawning."

"That… is probably the most selfless thing you've ever done."

She snorted. "Really? That is all you have to say?"

"Just…" He sighed and sat down on the branch next to her. "Tell me, Ray, have you changed at all?"

"Don't call me that." She snapped, more out of habit. "And no. I haven't."

"But you said it yourself. The clan's dead. So what's left for you?"

Raven sighed and stared back at the house. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

"You made that choice." Qrow turned to her. "You chose to leave everything behind and sacrifice the rest."

"You don't have to tell me."

They both looked up at the shattered moon above them before Qrow grabbed his flask and took a swig. He then offered it to his sister, who did the same. "Any plans for the future?"

"I'll try to build up the clan again. After all, the Queen will recover eventually." She replied. "So the chances of us meeting again are slim."

"So we'll never see each other again?"

"Yes. Good riddance."

"Good riddance."

They both stood up. "Just do me one favor, Ray."

She didn't even bother correcting him, and just looked at him. "What?"

"Leave them alone." Qrow looked at her straight in the eyes. "Those kids are going to grow up strong, that's a guarantee. So don't even think of trying anything with them. They will not be joining your new clan."

She smiled. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Qrow just shook his head. "I guess it is farewell, then."

"Yes, it is. Goodbye, brother."

She then pulled out her mask and put it on before summoning a red portal. Just before she jumped through it, she gave him one last look, before disappearing, never to return.

"Goodbye, Ray." Qrow sighed as the portal closed, rubbing his eyes, before jumping out of the tree and strolling to the house.

Silver slid the door open with a smile. "Hey, uncle. What's up?"

Ruby and Yang smiled, and Gordon and Summer both waved.

"Nothing." He replied, strolling in. "Got any booze?"

Silver sighed. "Really? Well, yeah. Gift from Mistral sent some wine as a thank you to you."

"Well, bring it out and crack it open!" Qrow grinned.

Silver laughed and led him to the kitchen, before pulling out a bottle from a high shelf with a gold label. "Jeez, you're worse with alcohol than Ruby is with cookies. But anyway, what have you been up to lately?"

"Oh, you know…" Qrow sighed as he held up a glass as Silver filled it. "Just tying up a few loose ends."

* * *

The prison van veered across the road before pulling to a stop, and the driver, a young man only twenty-two years old, jumped out. "Crap!"

He ran back to find a small girl lying in the middle of the road, and he started panicking. "No no no no no!"

The man bent down over her and breathed a sigh of relief when she slowly pushed herself up. "Are you ok? I'm so sorry, I didn't see you!"

She seemed dazed, and she had blood dribbling down her forehead, but she nodded and tried to stand up.

He pushed her down again. "Stay still, you might be concussed. Look, I'm so sorry for hitting you, is there anything I can get for you?" He then looked around. "And… why are you out here in the middle of-"

He was cut off as a foot found itself in his face, and he fell back, unconscious.

Neo smiled and wiped away the fake blood from her head before dragging the man to the truck and throwing him in. She then grabbed a ring of keys from his belt, then reached into her pocket and stuffed a wad of lien into his pocket before shutting the door.

After all, he was really nice and was only being a gentleman. He probably would have bought her ice cream if she'd asked.

She hummed silently as she walked past the trailer to the back and slid an attached key card through a slot, then twisting three keys into three separate locks before reaching down and pulling back a bolt, opening it.

She then doubled over at the sight inside.

"Shut up." Roman Torchwick growled. He was chained in the middle of the truck, each arm attached to a corner of the prison truck with thick ropes, each closed in thick plexiglass covers, with a metal clamp around his waist and another around his neck attached to the back through long metal bars. "And you took your bloody time."

Neo merely skipped forwards past the remains of six Atlas Knights, whom she'd taken out before stopping the prison truck. She then annoyed Roman even more by starting from the top clamps and leading to the bottom, leaving him doing an awkward split towards the end.

He finally was released after a long time. Roman glared at her but then faltered when she hugged him.

"I missed you too, Neo." He chuckled. "I hope you have them…?"

She brought out his hat, Melodic Cudgel, and a lit cigar. He took them, placing his hat on his head and spinning his cane before putting the cigar in his mouth and releasing a cloud of smoke into the air. "Ahh. So, shall we?"

They hopped out and he looked around. "So… where's our ride?"

They stood in the middle of one of Vacuo's many desert roads. She pointed to a white sedan sitting on the road to the side, and he shook his head as they walked towards it.

"So who did you steal this from?" He asked as they arrived. "And no, you're not driving this time."

She pouted at the last part but then smiled as she held up a driver's license.

"Jacques Schnee…?" Roman read from it as he started the car and pulled onto the road. "That name's a bit familiar… Didn't we use to steal from him before?"

Neo nodded. They both turned as the distant roar of motorbikes sounded, and several masked men came from behind on dirt bikes, all wearing black balaclavas and leveling submachine guns at the car.

"And you pissed him off, didn't you?"

Neo shrugged helplessly, ducking as a bullet shot through the windscreen.

Roman sighed as he rolled down the window. "Just like old times, eh?"

Neo smiled as she grabbed the wheel while Roman leaned out, his cane out as he fired a shot at the approaching bikers.


End file.
